The Moment of Truth in Your Lies
by letzigprincess
Summary: When fifteen year old Bella Swan comes to live with the Cullens due to an intervention by Edward, a relationship is formed that will bind them together for life. Will they give in to the truth or try to keep up appearances? EPOV
1. The Moment of Truth in Your Lies

**Hope Springs Eternal Contest**

**Prompt #7**

**Pen-name: Letzigprincess**

**Twitter: letzigprincess**

**Beta: X-NessieCullen-X (HUGE thanks to her for helping me with this big beast! I couldn't do it without you girlie!)**

**Title: The Moment of Truth in Your Lies**

**Word Count: 9,469**

**Rating: M**

**Pairing: Edward and Bella**

**Summary: When fifteen year old Bella Swan comes to live with the Cullens due to an intervention by Edward, a relationship is formed that will bind them together for life. Will they give in to the truth or try to keep up appearances? EPOV**

**Disclaimer: The characters and anything involving Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. The plot belongs to me.**

**The Moment of Truth in Your Lies**

Edward Cullen paced the floor in front of the bedroom door. His bedroom door. Jessica's bedroom door. He knew she wasn't stupid and he knew he shouldn't be doing this. It was going to end up killing them both if they continued on the way they were. All that he could think of is that he wished he were somewhere else, inside of someone else's bedroom, a someone else that would shatter Jessica if she found out. He just couldn't help it.

Pushing the bedroom door open, he stepped inside and winced when he found her sitting up in bed, watching some TV show that was on mute. Obviously, she had waited up for him. "Jess?"

"Go shower. You aren't getting into our bed smelling that way. I can almost feel her here with us. I'm so...fucking _done_, Eddie."

"I know..."

"Yet you still see her!"

A part of him thought she was pathetic, knowing about his extra-marital affair and not demanding a divorce. He wondered if marriages ever lasted. The married couples he knew were good at faking it in public but when it came to the privacy of their own homes-their own bedrooms-he wondered if it even mattered. Marching over to his dresser, he grabbed a clean pair of boxers and headed for the bathroom. The light flashing from the TV clicked off, darkening the room he left behind. When he came out, Jessica was nowhere to be found and he didn't have the energy to go find her. He'd been put through his paces earlier that night and had he known it was going to go down this way, he would have just stayed in that bedroom he longed to be in.

Edward Cullen went through stages when Jessica Stanley was one of his favorite people but then he also went through times when he couldn't stand to look at her. They'd dated on and off in high school, broken up completely while they each attended separate colleges, and then finally got back together after he ran into her at the dentist. Yes, the dentist. He was having a root canal done. When she stumbled into the waiting room and sat down beside him, he did a double take, wondering what the odds were of this happening.

To his sister Alice, it was a cosmic shift of the planet-something that fate had brought to happen. To his brother Emmett, it was a hilarious story. To his parents, it was a groan and a somewhat frustrated nod. No matter who you asked, though, Jessica and Edward seemed doom to once again repeat the past. This time, after boring dinner dates, awkward movie nights, expensive wine tastings, and a few stress relieving sexual release, something a lot less planned had happened. It was the last of these activities that brought him great joy and great sorrow. Only a mere six months after his God-awful root canal, Jessica Stanley messaged him-yes, she made this announcement through a text message-that she was pregnant.

It took everything he had not to take the beer he was drinking, dump it out, break the bottle and cut through a major artery. Okay, so maybe he hadn't really considered it; he just merely thought of it. In fact, he was actually busy at the time and didn't get back to her until the next day. Unlike Jess, it wasn't through a text message, though.

When he told his parents, he hadn't bothered to bring Jessica with him. Edward scoffed as he laid in bed thinking back on it now. They'd never been there for each other-not even when she was carrying his kid. His mother had simply walked out of the room and his father just shook his head. "Are you two planning to marry? Jesus, Edward, you aren't some high school kid anymore. You're twenty-three years old. Man up."

So, he did what he thought he had to do. A month later, he proposed to the mother of his growing baby. They were married at the court house, had a small dinner at his parents, and then dropped her off at home so that he could attend a week long job related seminar. By the time he made it back to what was now their home, it was time to start planning for their baby. He played loyal husband while he anxiously waited for the arrival of their son, Trenton Anthony Cullen. God, how he loved that little boy. He attended doctor visits with Jess, painted the nursery with the help of Emmett, and even assigned Godparents to their child-Isabella Swan and Jasper Hale.

Yes, the same Bella that was stopping him from loving his actual wife was the godmother of his child. He had to make her a part of the baby's life somehow. He couldn't live with only sharing this joy with Jessica. Jess had agreed because of this other sick, little fact; Bella had become close friends with her and had been best friends with him when they were younger. Edward had trouble understanding what the two of them had in common that bound them together. He wondered often if Jess felt sorry for her or if she just simply liked getting to be the privileged one. He had a feeling that when Jess walked around with Bella, someone who was usually covered in bruises, it made her feel more beautiful. That realization came to him two months after Trenton was born and he'd hated Jess for it ever since.

Isabella Marie Swan grew up in the city with her mom and stepdad. They were both nice people, Edward had been around both of them many times, but they weren't reliable. When Bella came to live with her father, a man who had lost his badge because he got caught doing something rather deplorable, her world was thrown into a blender. Edward first noticed something was wrong about three weeks after she had moved to Forks. Everyone was in awe of the new girl and Edward, having been only ten at the time, was not a huge fan of girls. He noticed, though, that she never looked at any of the people who flocked around her with affection or even interest, it was like torture to her. When he saw the hand-sized bruise during art class, his ten year old mind tried to figure out what had happened to her.

It wasn't until they were in middle school that he finally spoke up. Always an advanced reader, he had read a story where the main character was verbally and physically abused by his mother. The book was not put down for one whole night and the whole time he was reading it, his mind wandered back to that scared, brown-eyed girl that he'd come to know as 'Bella'. At first, his mom was upset when she found him reading the book, having heard of it herself and feeling it was not age appropriate for her son. He had been silent the entire time she questioned him about it. She hadn't done it to yell or get out anger, she was just genuinely curious about what he thought of it-Edward figured she was probably trying to decide if it was okay to let him finish the book.

When she had completed her questioning, frustrated that he wasn't really answering, just giving her non-verbal shrugs or nods, she asked him if he had any questions. So, as a young adolescent, he closed his eyes and asked, "What do you do if this happens in real life?"

Esme Cullen seemed to contemplate this question for a long time before answering, "Edward, sometimes horrible things happen to children. Some moms and dads can be really mean. Your dad and I love you very much. You don't need to worry about..."

"What if the person's dad is the only mean one? What if the mom lives far away?"

Esme glanced at the book in his hands and then locked eyes with him. Her face seemed to pale as she swallowed hard. It was what a parent did when faced with the fact that their child knew something beyond their years. "Edward, the mom in this book is the mean one. Where did you get that from?"

"Mom, I..." but he'd gotten scared. He stopped there and it took weeks to get the truth out of him. By then, the contents in that book had festered in his mind to the point that he was terrified for the tiny girl who always looked so haunted. Even when he finally told his mother the truth, he wouldn't dare tell who it was. Finally, just a couple days shy of his fifteenth birthday-when girls were starting to become appealing, he'd gone to a party. He had no business being there, having only decided to tag along with his eighteen year old brother, when he'd seen her. Bella was just sitting on her back porch, a half a block away from the party house.

Tired of trying to find someone older to talk to, he'd wandered over to her through the neighbor's backyards and didn't see the panic on her face until he was only two houses away. She jumped up, ran over to the short fence that stood between the yards of her house and her neighbors, and just shook her head frantically. At first, he wondered what was going on but as he got closer he heard what she was frantically whispering. "Go! Go before he sees you!"

Edward ignored her pleas and stood on the other side of the fence, getting more than an eyeful of the beer cans that lay abandoned all over the yard, up the porch steps and even lining the porch. The next eyeful he got was of her, the beautiful, tiny girl. This time, though, she wasn't in long sleeves and jeans. Now, she was in a baggy t-shirt and track shorts. Her skin had purple, yellow and even blue marks scarring it. When he heard a gruff voice yell for her from inside the house, he'd been a total pussy, backing away from her quickly. She seemed relieved and turned away from him, running into the house.

At a dead run, he went back to the party, finding Emmett and begging him to drive him home. Emmett was royally pissed but as they climbed into his Jeep, he began to look concerned. "What's up, man? You look white as a sheet..."

"I need to talk to dad," was all Edward's shaky voice could muster.

"Did something happen with a girl? You know you could always ask me about that stuff..."

"No!" he gasped, a little horrified at even considering what Emmett had told him. Then, he realized it _was_ something that happened with a girl.

"Okay, okay! Relax. Don't tell him there was alcohol..."

Edward had quit listening as Emmett spewed a damage control lecture right when it had begun. He knew he had to tell someone what he saw. If he had any doubts of what was happening before, he was positive now. His mother was right, he had to be brave and tell them. He had to do it before Bella's dad could hurt her again. "Mom, where's dad? I need to talk to him. Now."

Esme jumped up from her position on the couch, "He's at work. He got called in to work the Emergency Room tonight. What's going on?"

Edward was passed tears, he refused to cry. No, now he was angry. She was too tiny. She was too beautiful. She was too _important_ to be treated harshly by anyone. Through clenched teeth, along with clenched fists, he stood in the living room of his childhood home and did what he considered the most grown-up thing he'd ever done. He stood up for Isabella Swan. "Bella Swan. That's who is hurt by her dad. Dad has to stop him!"

Esme went to him then, motherly instinct kicking in. "Did you see her father?"

"No! I saw her, though! She lives by Emmett's friend and when I went over to her porch to say hi, she told he to leave before he saw me and her arms...there were bruises...and on her legs, too. He called for her and he sounded mad and she's scared, mom!"

"Okay. Calm down." She took him by the shoulders, looking deeply into his eyes. "Are you sure you aren't just misinterpreting this? Her father could get in a lot of trouble for what you're saying is happening. You need to be sure."

Edward would know later on that it wasn't about her turning her cheek and minding her own business. It had been about her making sure her young son hadn't gotten caught with a teenage girlfriend, pissing off the girl's father, and then over reacting when he retold the tale later. When Edward shook his head, taking his mom by the shoulders as she was doing with him and said, "Please, please help her," his mom sprang into action.

She called Carlisle at the hospital but he was with a patient. Edward felt like he was buzzing with adrenaline. Bella...Bella...please... "Mom, we can't just sit here!"

"Your father will call child services..."

"What if he's hurting her now?"

Esme glanced down at the house phone and then looked to the front door. "Alice!"

His mother had come up with a plan of her own. As Ally, his twelve year old sister, skipped down the stairs in her pj's, Esme kissed her forehead and then Edward's. "Stay with your brother. Don't kill each other. I'll be back in a little while."

'A little while' turned into six hours. Right around three o'clock in the morning, he had been lying on the couch, and he heard his father talking. "Take her upstairs." They weren't alone. He had jumped off the couch quick enough to see his mother leading Bella Swan upstairs. He had the unexpected urge to follow, to see for himself that she was okay.

Carlisle stepped in front of him before he could. "Give her space. Come on, I want to talk to you."

That night-well, very early morning-his father had explained that Bella would be living with them for a while. There was a chance that she would really need a friend. There was also a chance that she might not want to be around him at all. He was told to give her time. After their talk, he'd gone up to his room but noticed Bella coming out of the bathroom. They were headed back to their own rooms when she turned around, causing him to pretty much run into her. He caught her from falling, determined not to let her feel any more pain.

"Thank you," she said quietly, holding onto his shoulders. Her face was inches from his and it took a few minutes before he could respond.

"I wasn't going to just let you fall..."

"I mean about...earlier. Thank you."

He didn't know what to say. Telling her she was welcome didn't fit the situation. Instead, being the hormone-raged teenager that he was, he kissed her. It wasn't until she responded with kissing him back that he nearly did drop her. Regaining his composure, he lifted her up so that she was flat on her feet and walked away.

"Daddy, want peanut butter!"

The twenty-six year old Edward laughed as he woke up to his three year old jumping on the bed. "You can't eat just peanut butter, Trent."

"Aunt Bella does all time!"

He wasn't lying. To Bella, peanut butter was its own major food group. She was rubbing off on his son. That made Edward smile even wider. "How about we add some jelly and bread to that peanut butter?"

"Daddy, where's momma?" Trenton asked, stopping his bouncing and landing on the bed beside Edward. They were both staring at the ceiling.

"I don't know, bud."

Grabbing his son around the waist, he hoisted him above his shoulders and ran down the stairs with him. He kissed him on the head as he plopped him down on the couch in the living room. Jess was sitting in the recliner; it was obvious she'd slept there the night before. "Bella's coming to pick up Trent. We need to talk."

"Let me get him some breakfast first..." Edward said, heading into the kitchen. This wasn't good. He could hear the words now. Liar. Cheater. Divorce. _Custody_. The last was the only reason he didn't want to go through with a divorce. He couldn't leave his son. He'd seen what divorce had done to Bella. He wasn't risking some man he didn't know coming into his home and hurting his child. "Is Jacob in?"

"No!" Jess yelled back.

As if he didn't already know the answer to that question. He wondered when she'd start to connect the dots, when she'd start to realize that his absences correlated with Jake's leaving...or that he was more on edge when Jake was visiting with Bella. He wouldn't allow Trenton over there had Jake not been away; Bella wouldn't have allowed it either. Neither of them would have the heart to explain why Uncle Jake always yells at Aunt Bella...or why he hits her. Edward swallowed hard, as if the peanut butter he was currently spreading onto bread was lodged in his throat. He hated Jacob Black.

"Bella!" he heard his son yell before little feet made their way into the hard-floored entry way.

"Hey, buddy!" Bella exclaimed. Edward's blood pressure increased.

"Hey, Bella," he heard Jess's voice join them. "Thanks for this. I only need a couple hours. I was actually wondering...if maybe...I mean you and Edward have always been close..."

Edward rolled his eyes and smiled at Bella's response. "He doesn't listen to me, Jess. He never has."

Just then, Trenton came strolling into the kitchen and Bella helped him up onto a high stool in front of the little bar. Jess hadn't followed them in and Bella looked over Trenton's head to Edward. Today, she wore a pair of gray yoga pants and a white t-shirt; her hair was pulled back in a messy bun. Edward wanted to lick her neck. "Mmm. Peanut butter..."

As Edward set the plate down in front of Trenton, Bella grabbed the spoon from inside the container and bit down, closing her eyes and putting her head back. "Have you talked to your parents lately?"

"About what?" he asked, clearing his throat and trying to focus on cutting the sandwich in half.

"Ally's got herself a new beau."

"Oh, boy..."

"I think you'll like this one..." the mischievous way she said it made Edward frown.

"Who is it?"

Jess came in then, interrupting the conversation. "Who's who?"

"Ally's new boyfriend..." Bella began.

"Daddy, can we go grammy's later? I wanna go swimming!"

"Actually, Trent, we can go when you're finished eating," Bella said, ruffling the little boy's hair.

"Are you headed over there?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. Ally and I are helping her pick out paint for the pool house. We were going over there anyway."

"Alright. I'll grab his stuff."

When Edward was gone, Jess shook her head and nodded for Bella to follow her into the other room. "I don't know what to do, Bella. There's someone else. He hasn't touched me in weeks... There's nothing I can say. He's a good father. He's obviously a good friend. He's not a very good husband and that kills me but I really think we're both sick of each other..."

"Jess, I don't know what to tell you either. He hasn't mentioned anything about other girls to me. I'm telling you, we don't talk about that kind of stuff. There's too much...stuff between us to deal with the topic of other women that may or may not be in his life. If he does mention someone else, I'll tell you."

Both girls turned as Edward noisily came down the stairs, handing Bella a small bag that had a towel sticking out of it. "Everything from swim trunks to sunscreen is in there. Call if you need me. Are you planning to be there most of the day?"

"Yeah. Probably."

"Don't worry about bringing him home, then. I can stop by later. I want to see mom anyway."

"I done!" Trenton called, running around the corner and colliding into Edward-who picked him up and blew a raspberry on his belly. After getting him dressed and ready, they both came back downstairs and Trenton took Bella's hand. "I ready!"

"Alright, alright. I'll see you two later," Bella said, leading him to the door.

"Hey, wait!" Edward called, making them both turn back around. "Who's the guy? You never answered my question."

Bella gave him a Cheshire Cat grin as she continued to the door, opening it up for Trenton to step out.

"Jazz."

If that admission hadn't shocked him, the words out of Jess's mouth once Bella loaded Trenton into her car and pulled away did. "I know you and Bella's little secret. The two of you don't need to act like partners in crime. I wouldn't say anything to Jake..."

Edward felt like he was going to vomit...in fact he almost did. She didn't seem angry but she did seem sad. "Jess..."

"Before you say anything, just come sit down. We aren't having this discussion out here. Let's go into the living room."

He followed her in, wondering if trying to do damage control would even work. The web of lies was definitely getting more and more tangled. "I..."

"Just listen. For once, can you please just give me five minutes of your day?"

"Sorry."

"I'm tired of the late nights. I'm tired of the no sex. I'm not stupid but I am completely fed up with all of it."

"Bella..."

"What does this have to do with Bella?" Jess blurted, seemingly confused and irritated.

"Huh?" He had no idea what Jess was talking about now.

"I'm not talking about Bella anymore...I'm talking about you sleeping with other people..."

"I'm confused..."

"Edward, all I was saying was that I know Jake doesn't treat her very well. I'm not stupid. I saw some of the bruises on her when he's around. I know you know."

"Oh."

"I want a divorce. We've done everything you possibly could to still live together but I don't even consider us married. Couples therapy isn't going to work-you're never around to go with me. A romantic getaway is pointless because you won't leave Trenton for two whole days..."

"Jess, please. You can't do this..."

"Why the hell not? What does it matter? You don't love me!"

"I love Trenton!"

"That's not a good reason to stay together."

"You can't take him from me..."

"I would never keep him from you. Ever. He thinks you shit rainbows, Eddie. He's not stupid, though. He's growing up. He's going to know that you aren't the white knight he thinks you are. He's going to see that you aren't around. He's going to know why. I know you're seeing other women, Edward. I know that it's been a long time since you've really looked at me as someone you love. In fact, I don't even remember a time when it was that way. You married me because I was pregnant, not because you loved me."

"Jess..."

"I'm looking for a new place for Trent and I to stay and...'

"No. You get the house. Trent knows this as his home. I won't uproot him now. Jess, look, if this is really what you want, then I understand. I did love you and in a way I still do but there is...you aren't the only one."

"Well, from the fact that you aren't groveling for me to change my mind, I'm guessing we can agree to this?"

"What's going to happen with him? You can hate me, I expect you to, but I can't be away from him all the time. I love that little boy...he's my world..."

"Edward, it's going to take a lot of figuring out. A part of me is angry but another part is just so tired that I'm almost relieved this is over. I mean, we both know we were never particularly good for each other. I was pregnant and scared..."

"I never meant to hurt you. It's just..."

"I did love you. A long time ago. I love that you love our son so much. You're a good father, really. I just can't do this anymore. I'm not happy, Edward."

"I know. I loved you, too. A part of me always will but it's not enough."

Watching her cry brought tears to his own eyes. Reaching over, her put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "You know I'm still here for you...as a friend."

"Edward, who are we kidding?" Jess asked, grabbing a tissue from the coffee table. "We've only ever been friends. Thankfully, Bella was there to put you back together and no other girl got the chance to move in. God, we were so young. Now, though, apparently some other woman has swooped in."

"You going to be okay?" Edward asked, wiping a quick tear from under his own eye.

"Yeah," she smiled slightly. Then with a shake of her head asked, "What about you?"

"I'll be okay."

Walking up to his parents' house and going through the door that day was one of the most stressful things he'd ever done. It would take his mom a matter of minutes to realize he wasn't wearing his wedding ring-and it would take Bella seconds. Thankfully, she was out back in the pool with his son and his mom was nowhere to be seen. Approaching the sliding glass door that lead to the back deck, Edward looked out at the two of them, unable to keep the smile off of his face. As he watched her swim around as if playing some game with Trenton, he thought back to her first few days at the Cullen household so many years ago.

"Bella are you going to come down to eat?" Edward heard Esme ask through his bedroom door. He heard Bella muttered something unintelligible and then heard a door open. More talking ensued but the voices were too murmured to hear. Forcing his teenage self out of bed, he crept downstairs to find her sitting at the kitchen table. She looked pale and there was a bruise he hadn't noticed the night before on her right cheek. She clenched the seat of her chair with her hands and seemed to be hiding behind her hair.

"Morning, Edward. What do you want for breakfast? Bella refused to tell me her favorite so I'll let you pick. French toast or pancakes?"

"Easy choice, French toast," he smirked, plopping down beside the scared girl. She looked so small sitting there like that and he wondered if that was what she was trying to achieve. When Emmett came barreling into the kitchen, she jumped a little. Before Edward knew what he was doing, he had reached down and pulled one of her hands into his, bringing it to the table top and flattening it out in a calming manner.

"Bella! We have to do your hair after breakfast!" Alice beamed, skipping in behind them. Bella's eyes grew even wider. Thankfully, his mom stepped in.

"Ally, you need to calm down a little. Bella isn't a doll. Help Edward set the table while I start this. Em, go grab the newspaper from the porch."

Bella relaxed at that and Edward went about his chore. When there was a heap of French toast in front of them, Emmett's voice broke the awkward silence. "So, is Bella living with us now?"

"Yes," smiled Esme, looking over sweetly at Bella.

Looking to Edward, the forever un-tactful Emmett asked, "Isn't she the girl you made me leave that party for?"

Edward choked on his milk, practically dropping the entire glass onto the tabletop. Ally smacked Emmett and shook her head while Edward's mother tried to diffuse the situation. Bella, though, was staring at him with eyes wider than when she'd heard Emmett's loud voice. Clearing her throat, Esme sat up straighter and said, "Your brother knew she needed help so he helped her. He did the right thing."

"I was just stating what happened, mom..." Emmett replied with a little more attitude than was necessary.

It was obvious Bella hadn't really put two and two together; at least she hadn't figured out that he'd been adamant about his parents helping her. After the awkward breakfast was over, Edward followed Bella upstairs so that he could get in the shower and get ready to go over to Jasper's. The afternoon went by quickly but the outdoor pool was calling to him when he got back from his friend's house. He stepped onto the deck to find Bella in the most peculiar way. She was lounging back on a chair reading a book. This would be normal if the person wouldn't have been wearing a pair of dirty converse, a long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of jeans...in 75 degree weather.

He knew that he wasn't, but because of his involvement last night, he felt like he was more responsible for her than anyone else. So, he approached her carefully and sat down. She watched him but didn't say anything. "Bells, it's way too warm out here for that thermal shirt..."

"This is what I wore here. Your mom gave me some of your sister's pajamas last night but this is the only set of clothes I have. Everything's at my dad's. This book is from your dad's little office."

Edward nodded. "Well, obviously Ally hasn't gotten a hold of you yet. She'll have a closet full of clothes ready to go for you the second she realizes you need things. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Um, Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," she smiled through tears that were starting to form. "It's not always that bad but last night was..."

"Hey, you're okay now. Are they going to let you stay here permanently?"

"I think so. I don't know. If I go back there, Edward, he's going to kill me."

"I won't let that happen," a naive, teenage Edward said reassuringly. "I'll be back out in a minute."

So, he sought out his little sister. Alice was just getting ready to go to Rosalie's when he knocked on her bedroom door. His poor parents were constantly shuttling them around to their friend's houses. "Um, I need your help but you have to promise you won't get too excited...Bella doesn't have anything. She has no clothes, no books, nothing. She's going to need something to wear today until we can take her... Alice!"

Edward was already chastising the little ball of energy. She literally jumped to her closet and began pulling out one thing after another, holding it up, and tossing it back in. "We can have a makeover!" she had exclaimed.

"No. Just give me a new set of clothes for her. She's upset and I highly doubt a makeover will cheer her up. Besides, I thought you were going out with Rosalie tonight. You need time to get ready." Edward couldn't help but roll his eyes at that, this was the only time he was grateful for his sister's hour long, leaving the house preparation. Alice slumped a little in defeat and handed him two pairs of jean shorts, a purple cami, and a band t-shirt. He averted his eyes while she dug through her underwear drawer and then looked down as she set two pairs of underwear with the tags still on them and one lacy white and one lacy black bra on top of the pile he was already holding.

"These should fit her. I bought them for Rosalie's birthday next week and I think they're about the same size in that um...area."

He swallowed hard but managed to get out, "What about socks?"

She just shrugged and gave him another new pair and then handed him a gently used pair of flip-flops. "It's too warm for socks today."

Walking it downstairs, he handed the pile to Bella who immediately began to blush at the pretty bras. Edward regretted not just letting Alice handle the situation. "Thanks," she said softly, taking the clothes and going into the house. He expected to see her back outside in the tank top and shorts but she came out instead in the band t-shirt, her jeans, and the flip-flip flops. A part of him knew she was wearing a set of underclothes but he was now in his swim trunks and for being a teenage boy, he didn't want to think about that at the moment. "It's really warm out here. Are you sure you don't want the shorts?"

Covering her arms, Bella shook her head. "No."

It wasn't until the next day that Edward suggested she buy a bathing suit while she was out shopping with Alice that he found out what was wrong with the more showy clothes. Alice had texted him to say that Bella absolutely refused to show her any of the bathing suits but Alice could see bruises on Bella's lower legs under the changing room door. He vowed to talk to her to try to make things better for her, so that night, he knocked on her door and she quietly told him to come in.

"Bella, why won't you ever wear shorts? It's nearly eighty degrees. School will be out soon...it's practically summer time."

"I can't."

"Why not?" he pushed.

When she began to cry again, he fought the urge to pull her close and hug her. Instead, very slowly, he reached over and took the bottom of her pant leg, pulling it up as gently as he could. "Edward, don't..."

It was too late; he already exposed some of the black and blue marks. "Bells..." he gasped.

"I told you not to. It's hideous. Please just leave."

"No. I just... Does my dad know it's this bad? Has he seen them?"

"Yes. They took me to the emergency room two nights ago. Please, please, just let this go..."

"You're really pretty," he blurted, panicked a little by the situation that was kind of his fault.

She blushed a deep red and brought her legs up to her chest as she sat on the bed. She didn't say anything but she did smile; he could tell she was trying to stop it, though. "Do people at school know about what happened?" she asked out of the blue.

"No. At least I don't think they do. I didn't say anything to anyone and mom and dad have Ally and Em sworn to secrecy. It's not our secret to tell."

She just nodded and picked at the seam of the comforter. When she looked up at him again, he realized there was no reason for him to still be there but the way she was watching him made him unable to move. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "No one else is home. Do you want to go for a swim?"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and it was his turn to blush. "Um..."

"I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean that we would...I just meant because Alice said you didn't want to be seen in a bathing suit and..."

Laughing softly, Bella shook her head and nodded. "A swim sounds fun."

The problem was, in a way they did let what he hadn't meant to happen begin to happen. They were just swimming laps when he stopped to rest, holding onto the side, when she swam over. They got to talking about school and friends, safe topics that wouldn't upset her, and before he knew it, they were kissing. Really. Kissing. As a teenager, he hadn't thought of how vulnerable she was or that he might be taking advantage of her and she didn't seem to want to pull away at all either.

His mom came home to find them talking and laughing and holding hands, thankfully she hadn't shown up sooner, but it was enough to worry her. She and Carlisle had discussed this. They didn't want two teenagers living together and in a relationship like that, looking back Edward understood it but he'd always hold a grudge over what happened the third day she was there when his mom sat them down separately and told them that it wasn't going to happen. Bella was already the only thing Edward could think about and it would cause a lot of arguments between him and his parents over the course of his and Bella's high school career-all up until they left for college.

Mesmerized by Bella and Trenton in the pool together, Edward couldn't help but notice the way Bella's suit clung to her. She was still tiny and he bet she could still fit in the bikini Alice had bought for her all those years ago. Her body had always been the one thing that could excite him, no matter how inappropriate the location. He looked to Trenton, watching as he splashed and smiled in the water, knowing if he kept looking at Bella he wouldn't be able to walk comfortably out to greet them. Once he was in decent shape to move, he slid the door open and called out a 'hello'.

"Daddy!" Trenton yelled.

"Hey, bud. Are you being good for Aunt Bella?"

"Yes," he said, trying to sound annoyed, like it was a stupid question but not quite pulling it off in the adult-like way he'd wanted to."

"He's always good for me," Bella chimed in, tickling the little boy and making him giggle. Then holding her arms out, she let him jump back into the water and caught him. Trenton's hair, which was usually spiked up, was now falling down in his eyes and Bella pushed it to the side, kissing his forehead. He needed to remember to take him for a haircut, the kid's hair grew fast...hell, he'd been born with practically a full head of it.

Edward sat down in a lounge chair and watched for a few more minutes before Bella pulled herself up the ladder-a sight that he loved-and he began drying off his son. Standing, he wrapped a towel around Bella, and had to refrain from hugging her. "Esme left to go paint shopping. Alice is all excited about it now."

"Well, there's something we need to talk about anyway and time for this one to take a nap. Come on, I'll put him down in my old room."

When they were both seated at the kitchen table that they'd eaten thousands of meals at, Bella leaned forward, "How's that left hand feeling?"

He smirked, knowing she would have noticed that. "A little lighter."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," he sighed, figuring he might as well get this over with. "Jess and I are both agreeing that it's what's best...for both of us. I don't think she's entirely happy with our life together..."

"She's sleeping with Mike," Bella interrupted quietly, reaching for an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table.

"Christ..." he Edward breathed out.

"I'm sorry. I heard it from Lauren but didn't believe her at first. You know how she can be."

"Why do you believe it now?"

"Because she wouldn't have let you go if there wasn't someone else for her to go running to."

"I suppose I deserve this."

"So, are you still going to keep this up? This little thing we have? What about the other girls, is it just not that exciting anymore? Do you regret it?" Every one of those questions could have sounded accusatory but she seemed genuinely curious. There was one question that he had trouble answering. I don't regret it. I'm not walking away from what we have and...Bells...there are no other girls. There never was..."

The shocked look on her face quickly changed to anger. "But I thought...you always made it seem like there were others. It was just me, then?"

"Why are you so mad at me?"

"Because I thought this wasn't about us. I thought this was just about you. My God, I single-handedly ruined your marriage!"

"Bells, you never did like Jess. You used to beg me to leave her and not just because you wanted me. You are_ happy _with Jake. You just hated seeing Jess and I nag at each other all the time." He rolled his eyes at the 'happy with Jake' part; they both knew she lied when she told him that.

"I have to go." Edward watched her slide her chair back and throw her half eaten apple away. He couldn't believe she was having this reaction. He didn't really know what he expected but Bella being angry when Jess didn't even seem that angry made no sense to him.

"Where are you going?"

"Home!"

"For years this place was your home. What the hell do you have to go home to? Jacob?"

"Don't start on me about this again."

"I love you. Of course I don't want to see him do this to you anymore. Bella, we can call the police and get a restraining order against him. The two of you aren't even married! He has no power over you! I'm tired of having this conversation with you over and over again! He's going to seriously hurt you...or worse."

Spinning around, she glared at him so menacingly that he thought she could burn him to death with it. "You're throwing away your marriage because of me. Edward, do you know how fucked up that is?"

"_You'd_ rather have the shit beat out of you by that asshole than be with _me_. Do_ you_ know how fucked up _that _is."

"You married her!" Bella replied as if that was the reason for this crazy thing they had going.

"You left! You fucking left! You got that scholarship senior year and we planned for college together and you got accepted to the ivy leagues and I only made it to community college and the next thing I know, it's five years later and I'm graduating, and I haven't heard a word from you in just as long. You walked out of this house that day and we literally never saw you again. Do you know how bad that hurt?"

"Your parents made it clear that they didn't want us together from the start..."

"What the fuck did it matter at that point? Christ, Bella, we lost our virginity to each other!" That seemed to quiet her and he couldn't even think straight, remembering that day. From the faraway look on her face, he knew she was thinking about it as well.

About two years after Carlisle brought Bella home, Edward and Bella found themselves left at home one night-which was rare when there were four other people living there. It was one of those times when he was 'broken-up' with Jess, which happened just about every other day and in high school no one thought twice about it. In fact, the girls seemed to love spreading the rumors about them and sucking up all the information about the drama. In their small town, there wasn't much else for teenagers to do.

Anyway, they had just finished watching the movie and, just like something out of a teen movie, she fell asleep and ended up leaning on him. It would have been fine had she not been wearing a tiny tank top that showed a lot more cleavage than his seventeen year old self could handle. He had no choice but to shift a little, trying to get comfortable in his too-tight jeans. It woke her up. Instead of her just pushing away and saying some type of apology, she just looked at him for a few moments and then an expression crossed her face that clearly showed that she had decided she was comfortable and if he didn't have any objections, she wasn't moving.

Soon, he found his hand on her side...then her hip..._then_ he was holding the back of her leg as she laid on the couch, leaning against him. Seconds later, she sat up a little-and he pushed her up with the hand that was already on her leg so that she could bring her face up to his. Their lips met and the rest is history-as was their virginity. Neither of them really had a firm grasp on what they were doing but Edward was smart enough to remember where his big brother kept condoms. They had made it upstairs into his bed and it was definitely a learning experience for both of them. He lasted about thirty seconds and Bella wasn't even over the pain before he was done. He played around with her, though. Eventually, they did get better at the sex but the relationship would forever remain foggy.

He loved her. She loved him. It sounded like a perfect story but they were both taught that it was a bad idea. He really did understand how his parents felt but they sometimes made it seem like Bella and Edward were committing a huge sin by being in love. They weren't brother and sister. She was a friend who had come to live with them. Had Bella moved in during her college years, they probably wouldn't have cared. Still, a stigma always hung over their heads. So, he continued the immature high school relationship he had with Jess, barely considering himself her boyfriend. He never slept with her and they barely went on dates. When they did date, they were with friends. Jess really just seemed like an attractive friend.

Bella and him, on the other hand, were constantly with each other. Emmett was away at school and Alice was younger and didn't have the same group of friends. Edward and Bella studied together, read the same books, watched the same TV shows, anxiously awaited new movies to go see at the theater, and talked every night before bed. Sometimes, those talks turned into something a little more x-rated but they were always discreet and never let on that anything was happening between them come morning. Looking back, Jessica was just a way to get his parents off of his back when they said he was spending too much time with Bella.

Regardless, he had hoped that living away at college would provide Bella and himself with the chance to be together and not have to hide it. Surely his parents wouldn't care that they were together now that they were both older and not living under their roof. That dream was shattered when Bella left for a ridiculously expensive school and he was stuck in Washington. Within the first few months, Bella completely withdrew from him. They weren't really boyfriend and girlfriend and he also wasn't dating Jessica anymore.

His heart had broken the night Bella sent him a text, yes, she said this through a text-Edward truly came to hate text messages after the history he had with them, and explained that she could no longer speak with him. She had met a guy and fallen in love. His name was Jacob Black and Edward knew there was something seriously wrong with this guy from the beginning. Of course, stubborn Isabella Swan would never listen to him. He tried to intervene but eventually just gave up completely when she wouldn't even respond to his texts. It was over between them at that point and he suffered her prolonged absence right along with his family, knowing that they didn't understand even half of the feelings that he was going through.

He suffered through, though. While throwing himself into schoolwork and a music fraternity, he eventually got over his broken heart and even dated a few girls here and there. One girl he dated almost a year before they parted ways. Still, he never felt the same emotional devastation with those break-ups than he did just by thinking about Bella. After graduating, he had met back up with Jess and before he knew it, was buying a house, planning out a nursery, and throwing a shotgun wedding. Still, it felt like something was missing.

That something, or someone, showed up at the worst possible time. Three months before Trenton was born, Bella had contacted Alice to let her know she'd graduated with a degree in English Literature and was moving back to Washington. Word quickly got out and his mother welcomed Bella back with tears and open arms. His father went along with it. Alice took her on a celebratory shopping trip and Emmett had been away at school for most of Bella's time at the Cullen residence so he couldn't care less. Edward was the only one who couldn't come to terms with it. Even Jess, his new wife, was happy. He nearly killed over the night Jess mentioned that she had invited Bella to Lauren's birthday dinner. It was the first time Edward saw her in years and he didn't make it through the dinner. He left while everyone was ordering dessert, claiming a stomach ache.

Anyone else there who didn't know Bella that well, which was everyone that was there, would have thought she looked like her old self. For Edward, who had loved her through the worst time in her life, knew she was anything but okay. He'd seen that fearful look on her face before. He also didn't buy her bullshit story of why she chose to come back to Washington when she had smiled and said she just loved the small town. No, that was not the real reason. She was running from Jacob Black. He knew that was the issue but it wasn't like he knew her well enough anymore to confront her. That night, and for weeks afterward, he would lie beside Jess at night and think nonstop about his lost love and her safety.

Jess and Bella ended up becoming friends and it wasn't awkward because he had begun to completely avoid Bella. If Jess knew of their history, she never let on. A few months later, Trenton Mason Cullen came screaming into the world and Edward would be awake at all hours of the night for other reasons besides Bella. His life revolved around work, diapers, arguments with Jess, and exhaustion. Still, as much as he came to loathe his wife, he came to love his son tenfold. When Jess suggested Bella to be the Godmother, as she was close with Edward's family, Edward agreed. He actually had a full conversation with Bella the day she accepted that role and it was the first time he noticed the bruises.

She stayed only a few hours at the house, eating quickly and then leaving. She did tell him that she and Jake fought a lot so she decided to get a place of her own back in Washington. Now, though, Jacob had realized where she was and would make frequent visits to see her. He would forever work down south but always made trips up to see her. Edward didn't know why he bothered. All Jacob ever did was smack her around.

The night Jake hit her with the vase was the first night she'd called him. Jess was out with Lauren and he was home by himself. Trenton was staying with his parents because they took him to visit with Edward's aunt and uncle. Feeling strange for the opportunity to be by himself, Edward chose to stay in and get a few things done around the house-like unclog the bathtub drain and fix the garbage disposal. So, when Bella called, he dropped the wrench and headed over, scared to death that she was worse than what she was making it out to be.

That night, he'd sat the whole night with her, first picking out little shards of glass from her rib area and then helping her into the bath to get the dried blood off. Of course it hadn't been about sex. Still, the overwhelming feelings he had always felt for her began to trickle back. Shortly later, they slept together while Jess was away at the beach with Lauren and he was home by himself with Trenton. As Jess pulled further and further away, so did Edward, right to Bella. She made his life feel not so frustrating and she was always so good with Trenton.

Looking at her now in his parents' kitchen, with Trenton sleeping above them, he decided that it was probably best to just give her space. "I thought you were leaving."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to be crashing here for a little while. I need to talk to my mom about all of this. Besides, I don't want to disturb Trenton."

"Yeah, I shouldn't be here when you tell your mom what happened."

He just nodded and she gave a sad smile before turning to leave. When he heard the front door close, he climbed up to his old room and laid down beside his son. He knew he couldn't spend the rest of his life worrying solely about Bella. She'd made it clear that she didn't want his help and he had someone else to live his life for. The little boy in bed beside him snored away contentedly and Edward tried to sleep himself. He didn't know how long he was laying there but eventually the front door closed and he expected to hear his mom come looking for them, instead, about five minutes later, he felt the bed sink down and a body press into his back. He knew exactly who it was then.

Pressing her lips to the back of his neck, she put her arms around him and then whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left without saying it back. I love you, too."

Turning to face her, Edward tucked her hair back behind her ears and kissed her forehead and then her lips. He thought back to when he'd said he loved her a little while ago in the kitchen when he was telling her about Jacob. He couldn't believe that it bothered her so much that she hadn't said it back to him at that point. Resting his head back onto the pillow, he held both of her hands in his and stared into her eyes, just as he used to when she'd have a nightmare involving the demons from her past and she would sneak into his room to seek his comfort. "Bella, you shouldn't be here. My mom will be home soon. We should go back downstairs at least."

"I agree to the downstairs part but I disagree with the first part. What we have isn't wrong and I'm tired to hiding it. I'm not keeping this from anyone anymore."

"Really?"

"If it's okay with you. I mean, God, we've spent almost a decade trying to hide how we feel about each other. I love you. I'm tired of us hurting each other and other people because we feel like we're doing something wrong. I want this. I want you. I'm sorry for earlier..."

"Shh..." Just then the front door opened and footsteps were heard in the entryway. "You're sure about this?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Once my family knows, it will get back to Jess. She's a friend of yours. Are you sure about this?" he asked again, sounding even more careful.

"I'm only friends with Jess because it allowed me to stay close to you and Trenton. This is going to get messy. You have a child and Jake...well...yeah."

Edward wondered if it was possible to quit smiling. He'd wanted this since he was fifteen years old. He needed her, beside him, forever. "So you want to try this? The two of us in a relationship?"

"Yes. I'm truly tired of trying to stay away from you. I can't do it anymore."

"Well then, come on. The sooner we break the news to my mom the better it will be for everyone."

"What about Trenton?"

"He already loves you but he does have a mother. I'll never take him away from Jess but I know that you'll be there for him as well. Let's just take things slow. We waited over ten years for this. Why should we rush it now?"

Bella smiled and kissed his cheek, pulling herself up off the bed and waiting for him to stand up as well. Taking his hand, she walked him towards the door, bracing herself for the sit down with his mother. "And Jake? He'll try to hurt me again. He'll come after you. He's going to want me dead, Edward."

Thinking back to all of those nights ago when she'd said the exact same thing about her father made his stomach turn. The fear that brought tremors to her voice made him see red. Rubbing a small circle on her hand to calm her, just as he used to do before, he said once again with conviction, "I won't let that happen."

"And Edward?" Bella began with a small smile. "I promise to never call you Eddie. Ever."

Edward beamed, loving her all the more. He couldn't help but laugh. How his own wife didn't realize how much he hated the nickname she'd given him he would never know. This was just one of the five hundred reasons that he and Bella were bound together. They had history, they knew everything about each other, and they accepted each other regardless of each of their flaws. Holding Bella's hand as they made their way down the stairs, he couldn't help but think that love did that to people. It bound them for life. No matter how many people were against it, he knew there had never been anyone better for him than Bella Swan. It was time they both faced that truth.

**This was a contest piece done for the Hope Springs Eternal Contest. I've discussed it a few times with my beta and have considered hashing the thing out and making it into a story. Either way, I hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear some feedback. Please leave me a review! Love, Letzy xx**

**Also, a current contest underway, the Show Me You Patriotism contest has a lot of great entries! Please check them out and remember to vote for you favorite! Who knows, you just might pick mine :) u/3982269/ SMYPContest**


	2. When Everything Feels Like the Movies

**I don't own Twilight but I will own up to an obsession with Robert Pattinson ;)**

**Special thanks to my kick-ass beta, X-NessieCullen-X and our mascot, Aiden! The girl gets paid in nothing more than sexy Rob pics that I have a habit of cramming her inbox and message feed with...not that she ever complains about that ;) Then again, who would?! Love ya, girlie!**

**PART II**

**When Everything Feels Like the Movies**

Edward held tightly to Bella's hand as her nails dug into his. He couldn't believe he was actually going to do this and he sure as hell didn't know how much of this he should give his mother at one time. The woman was young enough but it was likely to give her a heart attack. She'd be disappointed but he knew that she wasn't exactly Jessica's number one fan. His mother loved him, that he at least knew, but she would rather him be with the mother his child than be with someone Esme considered his sister.

So, it was a messed up situation but Bella had never been like a sister to him. From the moment he met her she was more than even a friend to him and from the second she walked through the door of his childhood home, she was his world. He could deny that all he wanted to his friends and his family but, even then, Bella Swan was constantly on his mind and always with him. It nearly killed him when she took off for college and they lost touch.

Just as they got to the bottom step and heard his mother and Alice talking out on the back deck, he felt Bella pull him back to her. "What?" he asked, a little confused. He thought they agreed on doing this.

"Not now. We can't tell them about us. Edward, you have to tell them the divorce news and I'll be there for that but..."

"You still want to hide?"

She glared at him. "Don't you dare! I love you. I have always loved you. It's because of that. We can't tell them about us yet. Jess needs time to cool off and figure things out before we let it slip about us. She could try to get full custody of Trent. I won't let that happen to you...or him."

"Okay. Okay," he relented. "What do you think I should say?"

"Tell them about the divorce. They might not even ask for the details..." her voice trailed off as even she realized that was a dumb assumption. This was Esme and Alice Cullen-the two most detail-oriented people he'd ever met in his entire life. "Just tell them what you feel comfortable telling them."

"You ready?" he asked, looking over his shoulder towards the side of the house the deck was on. She took a deep breath and nodded. Leading the way, he found his mother with a book full of paint and wallpaper samples holding a few up to show Alice, who was going through a different book.

"Edward!" Esme smiled happily. "Bella said you would be stopping by to pick up Trent. Where were you two at?"

_In my bed. _"Bella was settling Trent in upstairs for a nap when I got here. I wanted to talk to all three of you about something so I'm glad you're here."

Absently, Esme nodded, her reading glasses were sliding down her nose as she peered at a puke-green wallpaper design and cringed. "Okay, honey."

"Mom, what about this one?" Alice asked, completely not even paying attention to her brother. "Bella, don't you think eggshell blue would look nice out here?"

Edward rolled his eyes...but of course no one noticed. "I've won the lottery. Eighty trillion dollars. I'm buying a private jet and an island."

Alice just lifted her eyes from her book and smirked at him. "Smart ass."

"Edward, what's this about?" Esme asked seriously this time, setting the book down.

Bella was behind both of them now, giving him a nod of encouragement. "Well, I wanted to tell all three of you that things between Jess and I have gotten bad. Like, worse than bad. We're, um, we're getting a divorce."

Alice's jaw dropped and Esme took off her glasses and set them beside her on the chaise lounge. Bella, of course, stayed quiet. As far as his family was concerned, that's just who Bella was. The quiet one. He knew her better. "Is this really what you want, Edward? Couldn't you just try a little harder?"

"Mom, I don't want opinions. I'm making a statement. I'm telling you what's happening. Jessica asked me for the divorce today and I'm not going to fight it..."

"What about Trent?" Alice asked, her eyes wide with concern for her nephew.

"Jess and I are ending it on good terms." He thought of what Bella had told him about Jess possibly sleeping with someone else and added on. "I think that we both realized we don't love each other as much as we thought we did."

"Divorces are messy," Esme said, shaking her head and issuing that warning.

"Mom, I need you to think about what I want for once. She's not good for me. I'm really unhappy."

"You just need to try harder..."

At this point, Bells was shaking her head, obviously pissed off. Edward had to stop himself from grinning. If his mom kept this up, Bella just might show how _not _quiet she really is. "Mom, leave him be," Alice said seriously with a softer voice than he'd ever heard her use. His little sister was looking at him now with understanding and...pride.

"Well, Alice, I just want my son to realize that he's going to make things difficult for his own son. Edward, Carlisle has always been there for you. I was hoping that my grandkids would one day have the opportunity to have their father there for them."

"Esme," Bella spoke up, trying to keep her voice level, "he loves Trent. He'd do anything for Trent. This isn't about whether or not Trent will be happy. I already know that Edward wouldn't let him be anything else. This is about Edward and Jessica being happy."

Edward was glad she tacked on the part about Jess getting what she wanted as well. This wasn't just about him, even if to Bella it really was. While he made eye contact in thanks to Bella, his sister turned towards her, too. Esme was still staring at him, though. After a few more awkward seconds of no one saying anything, Esme sighed in defeat and nodded. "I'll do whatever you need me to do to help. You know I only want what's best for you and Trent. If leaving Jess is what will make you happy then so be it."

As she stood up and gave him a hug, Bella and Alice both seemed to be relieved. He hugged his mom back. "Do you know when dad will be home?" Edward asked. Carlisle had always been there to talk to but Edward couldn't even remember how many things his father missed out on throughout Edward's life. The man was never home.

"Probably not until later this evening."

"Alright, I'll stop by after dinner..."

"Just stay here and have dinner with us! I'll call Emmett. He can bring his new girl over. I'd love meet her. Bells, you're always welcome. You know that."

"If you have room for Trent and I, I'd like that," Edward replied and Bella nodded to let Esme know she'd stay.

"Alright, then. Let me go give your brother a call. Alice," Esme turned to her daughter and said with a roll of her eyes, "go call Jazz."

Alice smiled but then quickly blushed and looked to her brother. He glared back a little. If anyone was going to be with his sister, he supposed Jasper Whitlock wasn't the worst. Jazz had been his best friend since daycare when they were two years old and didn't even know what being best friends meant. As Esme left to go inside, Alice reached up and smacked Bella's butt. "Go check on Trent. I think Edward has something he wants to say to me..." she said dryly.

Bella shook her head but smiled and headed into the house after Esme. "Jasper?" Edward asked deadpan. He wasn't really that upset about it but this was his baby sister. He sure as hell was going to give her a hard time.

Of course, the catty little girl that Alice was crossed her arms, sat back regally in her chair, and asked just as pointedly, "Bella?"

He froze, not knowing what exactly she meant. "What are you talking about Ally?" he asked in an annoyed manner.

Alice looked over at the pool, an I-can't-believe-you're-playing-this-game smile was written on her face. "Edward, sit," she commanded, pointing to the lounge his mother had just vacated. Once he was seated, she began. He had never heard his bubbly, energetic sister talk in such a serious tone in his whole life. "I'm not stupid. I'll always consider Bells as a sister but you've never seen her that way. I knew since that first morning when I was little and she came to stay with us that there was something more between you two. Remember when she was afraid of Emmett and you took her hand. You've always wanted to protect her like a brother would but there was more there."

"That doesn't mean anything's going on between us now. How do you know you weren't just making big, false assumptions? You were just a kid," Edward pointed out.

"Oh, please!" she exclaimed, then leaned forward and lowered her voice. "So I imagined all those times that I saw you two sneaking into each other's rooms every night? You didn't see me and Em doing that."

Edward looked at her with a disgusted expression and she cringed. "Really?" he asked in exasperation and disgust.

"Okay, yeah, ew. Still, you get my point!"

"Alice, you can't say anything to anyone about this," pleaded Edward.

"I won't. I mean, I knew you two were messing around when you were in high school and I had a feeling you were still in love with her from the way you two were when you came around together. Anyway, I know you wouldn't tell mom but what happened with you and Jess? Does this mean that you and Bella might hook up again?" Alice asked giddily.

His baby sister always knew when he was lying. Taking a deep breath, he collected himself and braced for the wrath of Alice. There was a chance she'd say something to Esme and then Bella would be upset with him but hadn't she been the one to say that she was tired of hiding? Sure she choked when it could have been confessed a few minutes ago but they had been caught in this hiding game for years. It was hard to admit it to people who would disapprove. Deciding to bite the bullet, he ran a hand through his hair and turned to his sister. "Al, you're gonna hate me."

"The only reason I'd hate you is if you hurt Jess or Trent by laying a hand on one of them. If she's calling it quits because you were mean to your son, that wouldn't be okay. I know that can't be it, though, so go ahead and tell me."

"Well, I did sleep with Bella before I was married to Jess...and during."

All breath seemed to leave Alice as she looked at him in shock for a few minutes. Finally, she let out another shuttering breath and nodded. "You cheated on your wife," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I told you that you'd hate me," Edward whispered, standing to head inside.

"Wait," she called out, pulling him back down. "You never should have married her, Edward. Why did you?"

"Bella left, Al," his voice cracked when he remembered that pain like a crushing blow. "She moved away to a different school after making plans to go to school with me. Then, she quits calling and all the sudden she's with this guy who she says makes her happy..."

"Edward, I'm sorry." She reached over to rub his arm but he was already continuing.

"I ran into Jess and I tried to be happy with her. I mean, as far as everyone was concerned, we were high school sweethearts..."

"But you weren't. You were in love with Bella," Alice responded knowingly.

"No one knew that. Mom and dad wouldn't have let her live here anymore."

"What?" Obviously this little fact pissed off his sister as much as it did him. "Jesus..."

"I couldn't let them know, Al. Do you remember why Bells came to live with us to begin with?"

"I didn't really get it when she first arrived but over the years she confided in me. She says you saved her life."

"Well, I couldn't let her leave here again. What if she got thrown into somewhere bad? Her mom and stepdad didn't...they didn't want her. Mom tried to reach out and contact them and they came around once or twice but when mom offered to take her in for good, they signed away their rights."

"That's awful. Bella didn't do anything wrong! She was young..."

"I know. She was old enough to have things done to her by a man that...I couldn't let some man I didn't know take her in. So, we kept it secret so she could stay."

"I didn't know that part. God, Edward, that's so fucked up."

"Alice, I know you like to...gossip...but I need you to keep this quiet. I can't even have Bella knowing that I told you. She's scared to tell people what's going on and I want it to be her decision. It's just nice to be able to talk to someone."

"I can tell she loves you but what if she never wants to tell people? She's with Jacob Black. Will you be able to live with being the 'other man' for the rest of your life? Will you still have no regrets over the divorce?"

"If Bella would cut ties with me today, it would kill me, but I'd still be done with Jess. I don't love her...and Bella seems to think there's someone else anyway."

"Guys," Esme called from the kitchen window, "get in here and help me peel these corn cobs. You can sit out there and do it if you want but come get them!"

Edward stood again to go inside but Alice yanked him back down. "I won't tell her but I have to tell you something. I know it's going to piss you off but...Edward, I went shopping with Bells a while ago and..."

"Edward! Trent's up!" Bella called from the same window Esme had yelled out of.

"Al, what? I have to go get him..." He was surprised to see his sister so at a loss for words.

"She was limping." Edward's stomach dropped and he closed his eyes. "Edward, there were bruises all over her ribs. We were trying on clothes and I didn't think anything of it so I just went in. She freaked and I didn't understand why. It was so familiar, though. It was like when she first stayed with us and there were bruises from her dad on her legs. I thought it would never be an issue again so I didn't think to knock. She started to cry and she begged me not to tell you... Jake hits her, Edward!"

Edward had both of his fists clenched. He knew what his sister was going to say before she even said it but he couldn't bring himself to stop her from talking. It took him a minute to respond. Standing up for the third time, he moved to stand in front of his sister and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know he does, Ally. This time, though, I can't just swoop in and save her. She has to help me. I'm trying, though, Ally."

As the door slid open to reveal Bella carrying a sleepy Trent, he blinked his own tears away and told Ally to wipe away hers, whispering that he saved Bella once and he'd figure out a way to do it again. "There's daddy, buddy," Bella cooed to the three year old. "He was talking with Aunt Ally."

Edward was well aware of his sister's whimsical smile as Bella handed him his son. "So, what about Jazz?" she asked coyly.

After the discussion they just had, it didn't feel right to give her a hard time. "Hey, you know how close Jazz and I are. I know he's a good guy. Just don't hurt each other...and if he hurts you...Trent and I will kick his butt!" Edward teased jokingly, high-fiving Trent.

"Yeah!" Trent yelled in response, really not understanding what was going on.

"You three stay here," Alice nodded, walking past them, "I'll grab the corn."

Two hours later, Carlisle came home and found Bella and Trent back in the pool, this time accompanied by Alice. They broke the news to Carlisle in the kitchen when it was just him and Esme setting the table. His father took it well but was definitely disappointed and didn't exactly approve. "What happened?" he asked, just like Edward had expected.

He shrugged, telling his father the same thing he told his sister and mother. Before anyone could ask anything else, Emmett came barreling in the only way that Emmett could. A pretty blonde girl was with him. Thick curls framed a pretty face and she gave them a small smile. Edward immediately got the impression that she didn't flinch away from uncomfortable situations. Still, she wasn't Rose. Rosalie Hale and Emmett had broken up after a year of dating. She was almost seven years younger than Emmett but she'd been around the family and they knew each other well enough to try it out. Emmett had been in love with her and Edward wasn't completely sure it was really over in Emmett's mind-new girl or not.

"Everyone, this is Irina. She's from Alaska," Emmett said the last part like it was super-exotic and note-worthy. Edward had to chuckle before walking over to shake her hand. His mom came over to give her a small hug and Carlisle nodded from his seat at the table.

"Edward, go round up the troops. Dinner is ready."

"I'll get them," Emmett replied, walking over to the window and yelling as loudly as he could to 'come eat before it's gone'."

Edward heard Trent yell back a loud okay and Esme swatted Emmett with a dish towel. "That wasn't what I had in mind."

"It worked," he smiled.

As was normal, since the pool had always been a big part of the Cullen family, the swimmers just wrapped themselves in towels and came on in. Bella helped Trent into a seat and dried his arms with her towel. It wasn't lost on him that she sat down in the seat Jess usually sat in on the rare nights she'd visit for dinner. Trent was between them. Jasper came in then, taking Bella's usual seat by Alice. "We gonna kick you butt, Uncle Jazz!"

Jasper's eyes immediately shot over to Edward. Edward high-fived Trent again and let Jazz sweat it out. "Darn right we are!"

Bella reached over Trent to push Edward's shoulder. "Don't teach him that..."

"We're just joking around, Jazz. We're only going to hurt you if you hurt Aunt Ally," Edward clarified, shooting Bella a see-I-can-be-nice smile.

"No more fighting," Esme put in. "Emmett, introduce Irina to them."

"Jasper, Trent, Alice, Bella, this is Irina. Irina, this is Jasper, Trent, Alice and Bella."

Edward smirked but Esme shot her oldest son a wry smile. "I'm Alice," Alice spoke up, "this is my boyfriend, Jasper Whitlock."

Edward wondered if there would be animosity between the two girls. Rosalie was Alice's best friend. If there was, though, he didn't see it and felt relieved. "I'm Bella," Bella put in. "It's nice to meet you."

"Your son is adorable. His eyes match your husband's perfectly..."

"Oh, he's not..." Bella began but Esme beat her to it.

"Actually, Edward is Bella's foster brother. That's his son, though. Trent is three and definitely adorable."

There was that word again. Brother. Edward gritted his teeth. "Bella came to live with us when we were teenagers."

Esme actually shot him a look for that one. "Well, now that everyone's been introduced, let's eat."

Jess called Edward halfway through dinner to ask when they'd be home. He called her back quickly, knowing that she had a right to know where her little boy was and what was going on. He'd called her earlier to make sure it was okay that they eat dinner at his parents' house. "We should be back soon. Em brought his new girlfriend over to meet everyone and dinner went a little longer than normal. Besides, Trent's back in the pool. I swear he's part fish."

"I'm going to run out to have a few drinks with Lauren if that's okay. I shouldn't be late..."

"Take your time. I'll get him home and into bed."

"Are you...going to stay?"

"I'm not going to just leave him by himself!" Edward exclaimed. That got Bella's attention as she walked past where he was sitting on the pool deck. He shook his head to tell her it was nothing to worry about.

"No. I mean, like, are you going to stay? Here? All night?"

"I was planning on it," he lowered his voice to ensure Trent couldn't hear him. "I'll just take the couch until we get things figured out."

"Okay. Good. I haven't the slightest clue how to explain either of us moving out to our fish boy."

Edward had to smile at that. She loved her son and that was pretty much her only redeeming quality. She also wasn't putting him through the ringer. Yet. So, he hoped her being civil during the divorce would be a second quality he could admire about her. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Okay. Be careful coming home. Watch for deer!"

He laughed. "We'll be fine. I have the truck, remember?"

Bella came over and sat down beside him on the chaise lounge. "How you doing there, foster brother?" she asked, mocking Esme.

He groaned. "Please, for the love of God, never refer to me as your brother ever again. Ever. I'm serious."

She nodded, "Agreed. I can't believe her. Edward, we're adults!"

"I know. I should be getting Trent dried off. I want to get him home in time for him to have his regular bed time. All this swimming probably tired him out."

"So, you just go home to her? Like nothing is happening?"

"Yeah. Well, no. Kind of... She's not there. She went out to the bar with Lauren," Edward began but was interrupted by Bella making fake gagging gestures. "I agree completely. Anyway, I'm just going to sleep on the couch so I'm there for Trent. We have to work things out on what we're going to say to him about all of this. Then, I guess I'll just crash here."

"If you can sneak away one night...will you?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "I'll give you a call tomorrow. Maybe we can grab lunch or something. She's supposed to have Trent in the afternoon. Some play date with Angela's son."

"I like Angela."

"Agreed. Trent, let's go, buddy!"

"But dad..."

"Out of the pool!"

"I don't want..."

Bella didn't let him finish that sentence because she dropped her towel and dove into the water right beside him. He shrieked playfully as she scooped him up and tickled him. "Aunt Bells!" Trent exclaimed as if she was a traitor. Bella just handed him up to Edward who winked a thank you to her.

With his family knowing about the divorce, Bella cooling her heels on admitting to her relationship with Edward, and Trenton sound asleep in his room upstairs, Edward felt somewhat calm for the first time in ages. There would be a shit storm to deal with soon, though, and he just hoped things with Jess stayed as laid back as they were. He doubted it, though.

His wife wasn't going to take well to the fact that her friend was the other woman. Due to Bella's relationship with him, the seemingly platonic one to those on the outside, Jess had been trusting. Sure, she'd roll her eyes in mock annoyance when he and Bella would get into one of their inside joke rolls but he truly didn't think she suspected that there was anything between them other than that they were very close friends. He had been quick to correct her when she had used Esme's favorite title for Bella. He was quick to correct everyone. Bella wasn't his sister.

The biggest fear he had, more than even Jessica realizing what was really going on, was Jacob finding out about it. In fact, Edward was more afraid of Jacob just being in the same room with Bella whether he knew or not. Edward failed her. When she would sneak into his room at night after waking from one of her nightmares, she'd cuddle into his side and press kisses to his arm, his chest, his neck... He'd respond by moving his arm up to tuck it around her and hold her close to him. Always, no matter how tired he was, he'd lie with her and promise that she was safe with him. When they were younger, it was easier to feel that way.

After she moved away, though, his world shifted. It was obvious that she had found the confidence to want to strike out on her own. Looking back, he was more hurt than anything but he was also proud. For the longest time, he thought she'd never get over her past but she seemed to have done it. It scared him, shook him to his core, when he began to realize she met someone. It nearly killed him, though, when the harsh truth of Jacob and Bella's relationship was brought to light. He'd suspected Jacob was off kilter but had no clue what the guy was willing to do until the night he had hit Bella with that vase.

Everyone always used 'red hot' to describe anger. Edward had been cold. Fucking freezing. He wanted to kill Jacob Black and the only thing that stopped him was Bella needing him more. He felt numb that whole night, frozen in time. Thankfully, Jacob never moved up here to stay with Bella and therefore wasn't likely to hear the rumors or find out the truth. Edward hoped it stayed that way for a while. He had no clue how fucked in the head Jacob Black actually was.

Before he could think more about it, the front door opened and Jess came in with Lauren. Lauren nodded to him and he gave a nod back. This was awkward. Dropping her little purse on the table by the door, Jess ran a hand through her hair and turned to look at him. "I'm sleeping with Mike," she blurted.

Edward raised an eyebrow. Lauren's jaw dropped as she turned to look at her best friend. "Jess!" she exclaimed. It wasn't to chastise her for her actions though; it was to show her surprise that Jess would start this conversation before Lauren could leave. Now, Lauren probably felt like she was expected to say something to defend her. Edward tried not to laugh at the two girls staring at each other, both in shock. Apparently, Jess had a little too much to drink and wasn't too happy that she'd just said that either.

After she got a hold of herself again, Jess turned to Edward. "Um, he's..."

"An old friend of you, Lauren, and Bella's," Edward finished for her. "I know him. Bella introduced him to me before."

"Oh," she said stunned and he noticed she had been crying.

"Lauren, are you okay to drive or do you need a ride home?" Edward asked, wanting to throw the girl a lifeline to get out of this awkward conversation.

"Why?" Jess asked with a sniffle and a bit of an accusatory tone before Lauren could answer. "I know about Angela. I never thought..."

"What's wrong with Angela?" he asked, distracted by his phone that was now lighting up in his hand. He was walking over to the two girls when he saw it was Bella who was calling so he stuck it in his pocket.

"Would you just fucking quit lying to me? Jesus!"

"I'm fine," Lauren looked to him before opening the door. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Jess."

"You're drunk," Edward said as the door closed, leaving them alone.

Taking a deep breath, she stood as straight as she could and crossed her arms. "I never talked to anyone about your infidelities because I didn't want the fucking pity. Now that we're definitely going through with ending our life together, I'm doing what I can where Trenton is concerned to keep things between us okay for him. You need to know, though, Edward Cullen, that I am not going to sit around and let you make me out to be a fool. So, when someone asked me why we're getting divorced, I told them you cheated."

He took a deep breath, trying to decide what to say. "So, what? You announced it to the bar that we were done?"

"No. Lauren and I were talking about it but people over heard and asked me and made it seem like it was a horrible thing and I wanted them to know why. So I told them the truth."

"Oh." It was Edward's turn to have nothing to say.

"We might not love each other anymore...maybe we never really did...but I still cared about you..."

"And you slept with Mike so I don't see how you can play the victim," he pointed out.

"People already know about Mike." Jess waved her hand like it was just common knowledge already.

"Yeah, that makes it better, Jessica." His tone was sharper now than he wanted it to be.

"I heard that you slept with Angela...her friend told me."

"What friend?"

"Don't worry about it. You don't know her."

"Jess, I never..."

"I'm going to bed, Eddie. Good night."

She stomped away in her heels and he felt more confused than anything. Shaking his head, he decided to check and see what was up with Bella when the phone lit up with her number again. Stepping onto the porch and making sure he had his keys in case Jess drunkenly locked him out, he answered. "What's wrong?"

"Come stay with me. I know we said we were going to kind of see how things went but just...stay with me."

"Bells, I can't. Not tonight. Jess is a little drunk and I don't want to leave Trenton." With a little laugh, he added. "You could always come hang out here. Even with Jess here, she won't care."

"This is sick, Edward. I don't want to do this anymore. I want to tell people the truth...I know I choked when it came to telling your mom but..."

"When you say jump, we'll jump. If you want to come over and tell Jess with me, then let's do it. Just not tonight because she's probably already passed out. I am not ashamed of us, Bells. I won't even pretend to be. Not for Jess's sake and not for my mom's."

"Who do we tell first?"

"I don't know. I want to keep things smooth with Jess for as long as I can, though."

"Then we'll tell your mom."

"When?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. After lunch."

"Alright. I love you, Bells."

"Love you, too. Get some rest. I'm not ashamed either, baby, but I'm sorry if I make her hate us both."

"Don't be. I won't be sorry if she does react that way. I'll be disappointed in her but I won't be sorry. She is going to have to learn that this is just how things are going to be."

The next day, Edward called Alice to give her a heads up on what was going to happen and then headed out to meet Bella for lunch. They went to his favorite restaurant and ordered take out so they could eat outside at the local park. When they were full of lo mein, they headed to his parents'.

Alice was there in the kitchen, helping Esme polish the floors, just like she promised she would be. As soon as Edward and Bella walked in, Alice intercepted them and all but pushed Bella upstairs with her. All three of them agreed it would be better to let Edward break the news by himself. It was more Edward's decision, really. He didn't want her to hear anything horrible that Esme might say out of anger; Bella had been treated harshly enough by both of her biological parents, she didn't need to hear such negativity from Esme.

"Edward, what's up?" she asked, plopping down on the kitchen chair. "I'm exhausted. These floors are beautiful but a pain in the ass."

"You know, you can call me to help with things here. Ally and I could have done this."

"I know. It keeps me young," she snorted.

"I...um...I need to talk to you about something."

"Where'd Ally go?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't think Ally needs to hear this anyway."

"Uh-oh."

"I need you to not overreact on me, okay? You know that I don't want to see you upset..."

"Edward, I think I know what this is about. Word around town is that Jess asked for a divorce because you were sleeping around. Now, I don't know who it is and I quite frankly don't care but don't bring her here. Or them... I want this to be a home where my grandson is always welcome and you know I don't mind you staying here but do not bring girls to stay here _with _you."

"Mom, that is what this is about but..."

"I mean, the girl...please tell me it is just one girl."

"It is but..."

"Well, still, she can't be very respectable. I mean, to ruin a marriage and one where there is a child involved... Does she even know about Trent? Dear Lord, does he know about her?" Esme looked away like she was thinking about things way more than she should be and Edward had enough. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and sat down, reaching across the table to take her hand.

"Mom, it's Bella," he said quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.

His mother looked at him with a confused expression before clarity broke out. She shook her head to deny it. "No, they...they said that it was some Angela girl. Angela Webber, I think they said. Yeah, that's it."

The woman was acting like she was telling him a story about someone else. As if he didn't know who he slept with and couldn't possibly know the truth. "Mom, please stop. You heard what I said..."

His mom was still shaking her head and she looked a little hysterical. "That's impossible. I thought we were over this. I thought we agreed that it wasn't a good idea for you two to get involved..."

"We have. We've been. Mom, Bella and I are together." Esme didn't respond. She just stared at her hands. "Mom, please say something. Talk to me."

"How long?"

"A while. Like, a really long time."

"You're married, Edward. You have a son."

"He adores her like I do and Jess and I aren't right for each other. You've never even liked Jess. You love Bella like she's your daughter..."

"And you are my son. Can you not see why this is wrong?"

Tired of trying to stay calm, Edward shook his head and clenched his fist which was still on top of the table. "No! I can't! We were fifteen when you brought her home, mom! You didn't give birth to her! She's not my sister! I was in love with her even then but I was too young to get it. I loved her then and I love her now and Jess doesn't love me and I don't love Jess. After Trent, Bella is my entire world. We want you to support us, mom. We want to know that you're accepting of us."

"I'm not. How can you..." Her voice trailed off as she looked behind him, a strange expression crossing her face before she frowned. "How could you?"

Edward turned to see Bella standing there looking as pale as a ghost. "Esme, I'm sorry..."

"I think you should both...I need some time. I can't believe you two. After all the discussions and how much Carlisle and I tried to keep you from having a relationship... I need to think." Pushing up from the table, Esme breezed past them and headed upstairs. Once they heard her bedroom door slam, they both sagged a little in frustration.

Edward went to pull her into him, reminding her of what he said before. "I'm not sorry."

"I know. Still, she's your mom. You can't let things end this way..."

"I don't have anything to say to her."

"Let me try," she pleaded, looking him in the eyes. Alice came in then with a deep frown but didn't say anything. As Bella kissed him lightly on the lips as a bit of encouragement, she nodded before pulling away and leaving the kitchen.

**Bella POV**

"Esme?"

"Bella, this is not a good time!"

Bella took a deep breath and prepared to open the door. This killed her. If Jess wanted to slaughter both of them, she could live with that. She couldn't live with the woman who had taken her in and cared for her and the man she loved, who had saved her life, fighting with each other over something to do with her. Turning the knob, she was relieved when the door opened. She found Esme on the bed, tears on her face.

"Please talk to me, Esme."

"I'm just...I don't like this," Esme admitted in defeat.

"I know," Bella said softly, sitting beside Esme on the bed. "I'm sorry."

"Why him? I thought you two had a good brother/sister relationship going on..."

"We're not brother and sister! He's someone who I fell in love with when I was younger. He was there for me...he saved my life, Esme."

"What about Jake? Isn't that the name of the boy you've been seeing?"

"He's not...he's not good."

"I want to accept this but I never wanted this."

"I can't make you understand but just hear me out."

"I just thought you two had such good lives apart from each other. You had Jacob and he had Jessica..."

"Esme," Bella said softly, "we both know he doesn't love her. Do you honestly think he's happy?"

Esme sighed and looked away. "He's happy with his son and I would just think that he wants to keep his family together."

"Esme, he and Jess can love Trenton perfectly fine without being together."

"What about your boyfriend, Bella?"

"Alright," Bella said dryly, "I need to tell you a story. When you and Carlisle first brought me here, it was because Edward saw how badly I was hurt and knew something was wrong. He would talk to me at school when no one else would. At first, I tried to get away from him but he was so sweet that I just couldn't and I started talking to him once in a while. I never let anyone in before, Esme. When I saw him that night you guys brought me here to stay, I was so scared that something was going to happen to him and I told him to run. If Charlie had seen him..."

Esme put an arm around Bella when she shuddered, despite how upset Esme still was with her. "It's okay, baby."

"I don't know what I thought exactly, if I thought you just happened to hear about it from Edward or if he had an active part in it. When I found out the next morning that he'd been the one to make sure something was done, I felt safe for the first time in my entire life and he's the reason for that. I know you and Carlisle had so much to do with it and that I was safe with you guys but it didn't feel real until he was holding my hand at that breakfast table. I was falling for him then and I still love him now. You made it perfectly clear that we weren't to be together while we lived here and we tried to listen to you but I needed him so much. Anytime the nightmares or the fears came back, all I had to do was go to him and know that he was there with me and I could breathe again."

"You were together then?"

"Yes," Bella answered honestly. "We drifted apart when you and Carlisle talked me into going to college out so much further from him than I was planning. I thought you were doing it as an attempt to keep us a part and I felt like I owed it to you for all you and Carlisle did for me. I didn't want to cause a rift between you and your son after all your help. Edward was devastated and it's the biggest regret of my life."

"But...but you said you loved it there. You got good grades and made friends and met Jacob..."

"I got good grades because throwing myself into school work was all I had, Esme. I couldn't keep in touch with him because that wasn't fair to him. I didn't even want to talk to Alice because I was afraid it would hurt him. I cut a lot of communication with all of you because I didn't want to tease him like that and it...it hurt me, too. He'd always been there and then suddenly he wasn't. If it wasn't for that scholarship, one he helped me get with all that studying we did together, I wouldn't have been able to afford it but I felt the need to be independent.

"It was more than I bargained for, though. I was too anxiety ridden to make many friends. My heart was breaking to be away from Edward. One night at a party, Jacob approached me and I thought he seemed sweet enough. I should have known that I shouldn't trust men. It was too late when I realized he could get really violent. I tried to pull away from him but he started getting more and more possessive. I was a mess, Esme. Thankfully, Jacob had graduated a semester before me and worked a steady job out there. As soon as I graduated, I moved back here."

"So what happened then?" Esme asked, rubbing her arm gently.

"Jess and I were friends before and I started talking to her again and found out about her and Edward and that they were expecting a baby together. I almost went back to Jacob. Almost. Then, the night he asked me to be the Godmother for Trenton we had our first conversation since I'd moved back. It was so nice to be able to talk to him again and I think he suspected something was wrong with Jacob even then. We weren't sleeping together or anything then but things got...bad with Jake a couple months later."

"He found you here?"

"Yeah. He showed up and..." Bella swallowed hard. It was a night she would never forget but she wished she could. Pulling out her phone she decided to show Esme the pictures. Edward insisted on taking them when he was pushing for her to press charges. "Here. This is what happened."

Esme immediately gasped when she saw the picture. Bringing her hands to her mouth, she let a few tears escape before giving the phone back to Bella. Standing, Bella lifted her shirt to reveal the scar that was left from it. "This isn't one of my scars from Charlie. It was from a vase. It was thrown by Jacob."

"Bella, oh baby..." tears were running down her cheeks now. "I wished I had known. I would have helped you. We could have gone to the police together."

"Well, I was by myself and thought my rib was broken but I was too scared to go to the emergency room so I called the only person I have ever truly felt safe with and he came. God was on our side that night. Edward was home alone because Jess was away with friends and it was the night you and Carlisle took Trenton out to Pete and Liz's. Edward wanted to kill Jacob and I had to calm him down. When he realized I wasn't going to go to the hospital, he made me take those pictures so they were documented and helped me take a warm bath. He got all the glass out and then stayed with me that night. Nothing happened...like that...between us then but it felt so good to have him beside me again. We started seeing each other after that."

"This is all my fault," Esme said numbly. "I interfered too much and...look what happened. I should have been protecting you but I was so blind..."

"You didn't owe me anything, Esme. You've already done so much."

"No. I think of you as my own, Isabella. I feel like you're a daughter to me just as much as Ally is. I'm so, so sorry I wasn't there for you."

"You didn't need to be. Edward was, though. He was always there. He saved me from my father and he saved me when Jacob hurt me. I wanted to give up that night so badly but when Edward showed up, I just held on to him and couldn't let him go. He's my hero. Your son is my own personal hero and I love him more than anything in this world. He's an amazing friend and an even better father. I see so much of him in Trenton and I love them both. Esme, we both really want your support. We want to be able to be together like we should have been years ago. If you never love me like you used to, I can accept that but you need to at least keep loving him. I can't be the one to tear apart his family after all he's saved me from."

Bella was surprised when Esme reached out, pulled her shirt back in place, and tugged Bella into her arms. "Sweet girl, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize...any of this."

"We need you, Esme. We both do. Edward and I need you in our lives. Jess and Jacob don't know about us yet. Jess knows Edward was...with...someone else but she doesn't know it's me. Once it gets out, we're not sure what's going to happen but it won't be good. It would mean the world to us if we knew we had you on our side."

"Come on," Esme pulled away and helped Bella to her feet after standing herself. "Let's go get our Edward."

They both came downstairs to find Alice and Edward sitting in the living room on opposite sides. Neither of them seemed to be talking and Edward just looked completely uncomfortable. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Edward stood, his eyes frantically searching over Bella as if Esme may have done her harm. She just gave him a small, encouraging smile. He walked towards her then and her breath was taken away for the millionth time as he practically prowled over to her. She stepped into him before kissing him on the cheek and wrapping her arms around his toned body.

He seemed surprised and glanced over at his mom, who stepped over to put her arms around both of them. "I'm sorry. It's going to take a while to get used to this but I'm sorry for...a lot. All I ask is that you don't let this come between you and Trenton."

"I love them both," Edward said, kissing his mom on the forehead. "I won't let anything come between Trenton and I. Ever."

**EPOV**

Edward woke up later that evening with Bella's head on his chest and her body over his on the couch in her apartment. After staying to talk a little longer with his mom and Alice, they had needed the contact with each other. They were both fully clothed but it was hard to not be turned on with her weight on him. Her breaths were steady as he felt her chest rising and falling against his and he couldn't remember the last time she seemed so at peace. Seeing that it was nearly seven o'clock and Jess would be home with Trent soon, he let out a sigh. It was deep enough to wake sleeping beauty.

"Morning, sunshine," he teased as she looked up at him, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

"It's morning already?" she blurted, suddenly wide awake.

"No," he smiled, pulling her up to kiss her on the lips. "I need to go home, though. I want to be there before Trent goes to bed so I can spend some time with him...give him his bath."

"You're an amazing dad, Edward."

Bella would have made an amazing mother. She was so good with his son and her past was something that he always thought contributed to that. It pained him now to think about how different things would have been if she'd been the one he'd gotten pregnant three years ago or even earlier had it not been for diligently using protection all those times when they were teenagers. Then, he mentally scolded himself. Trent may be Jess's son but the little boy was the most amazing kid in the world, no matter who his mother was. He'd love him unconditionally no matter what. Even if Bella became pregnant with a child of his this minute, he'd never lose the love he felt for Trenton Anthony.

Bella kissed along his jawline, misreading his inner musings for him being upset. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I do need to get going, though."

"Are you going to just stay with Jess all the time still?" she asked quietly, like she wasn't sure if she wanted the answer.

"No. I was actually thinking of going to stay at my mom and dad's tonight after getting Trent tucked in for bed. There were a lot of nights when I'd be with you after he and Jess were both sound asleep. I just always came back in the morning before he woke up and I don't know how that's going to work anymore."

"Well, you're always welcome to sleep next to me. Kind of ironic that it was always your bed I was sneaking into at your parents' house and now you're sneaking into mine."

"Damn, I love you," he groaned, pulling her even closer. "I'm tired of this sneaking around. I really am."

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked timidly, biting her lip.

Kissing her on the mouth, he encouraged her to move her teeth and let him in. His tongue glided easily over her lips. "Why do you seem so nervous when we talk about the future, Bells?" he asked when he brought himself to pull away.

"I don't know...I'm scared. I guess. I don't know."

"Hey, things are going to work out..."

"I can't lose you. I let you go once and I'll regret that for the rest of my life. I also kind of sucked at it. I know you already have a son and you and Jess will always have this connection..."

He sat up then, pulling her into a sitting position with him. "Bella, look at me. You are who I want. If I wanted Jess, I wouldn't be going through this divorce. If it wasn't for you, I'd just stick it out with her. I want to be with you. I want that for the rest of our lives but it's your future hopes that scares me. If all you want is me to be there for you, to never marry, to never... Bells, I'll deal with it. I realize now that I can't love someone else. Not again. Not after you."

"I want things that I'm afraid you won't want to give me..."

"Like what? Talk."

"I want to marry and...have a family..."

Edward smiled widely then. "Bells, you're afraid I don't want those things with you?"

"You already have Trent and I don't want to come between you two."

"You wouldn't. I wouldn't allow it. That doesn't mean that...Bella, I want to marry you. I want more kids. I want all of that. With you."

She was smiling widely now, something not many people got to see. "You used to say those things all the time when we were younger. Remember how we used to talk about our future kids...and the fun we'd have creating them? I was hoping to find that with someone else and that's when I found Jake. I kind of gave up hope then."

"Bella," he breathed, "I promise you that I never stopped wanting that with you. I've thought about it before. All of it. I just didn't say anything about it because I didn't want to upset you. I don't regret having Trenton with Jess and I hope that doesn't hurt you..."

"Of course it doesn't!"

"But I was afraid if I'd bring up those old dreams that you'd be upset. I feel like I gave up on us too early. I feel like I should have fought harder for you."

"Oh my, God! You blame yourself for what_ I_ did to us? Edward, I love you and I'm the one that threw us away. I don't even deserve this second chance with you. I just figured since you had a child and the marriage thing didn't go so well that this was all we'd ever be."

"My marriage didn't work because it wasn't to you. You crazy, stupid girl. I want to give you everything, Bella. I want to see you happy. That's all I ever wanted. I need you to tell me what you want next. I need you to be honest with me. I want to go back to what we were. I want to be best friends and lovers at the same time. I can't even believe you thought that there were other girls besides you that I was sneaking around with. I only did this with you and it was because I couldn't deal with the mistake I made by marrying Jess. I didn't need to do it. I could have been there for Trent without it but I felt like it was the right thing to do at the time. I need your honesty, the way you used to be. That's what I want. Now tell me what_ you_ want."

"I want Jess to know. I want to be able to be seen with you in public and have people know we're more than just close friends...that we're not brother and sister. I want Trent to be around both of us more. I want you and him and if he's the only child we have in our lives, I'll be okay with it. Just please don't leave me."

The next weekend, Jess kind of had a hand in deciding when they would tell her. Rumors were being thrown around about the divorce quicker than it would get around in Hollywood. His parents were prominent members in the community, Jessica's family was large and they had a lot of friends, and in a small town, gossip was everyone's favorite past-time. It had even gone so far that someone accused Edward of sleeping with Victoria Smith-a girl he took to his eighth grade formal and who he hadn't even been in the same room with since high school graduation. He'd only heard the Bella rumor once or twice but he assumed it had to do with the fact that people always saw him and Bella together when they were younger and that Bella had Trent by herself a lot. He figured, though, that most people wouldn't guess her since Jess wouldn't have been so okay with her son being with the other woman.

On Friday, his parents took Trent to a local amusement park while he and Jess worked during the day and that night, his parents decided to keep him at their place. He had gone over to Bella's with the intent to spend some alone time with her without having to run home for bedtime. Bedtime with Trenton was something he always looked forward to but bedtime with Bella was definitely a close second. When he got there, Bella was on the phone, a strange look on her face. His first thought was that it was Jacob but then he heard Bella begin to talk.

"Okay, look, I don't know," Bella lied. He could tell she was lying without even knowing what the conversation was about. "Jess, I can only promise that he did not sleep with Angela. She's a really good friend...and...she wouldn't do that to you." Edward closed his eyes at the sad look on Bella's face. Guilt was tearing his girl apart. Bella glanced up at Edward before biting her lip and switching her weight from one foot to the other. "Jess...I...we should sit down and talk."

There was more conversation on the other end of the phone and then Bella nodded. "I...I do know...but...you have to promise that if I tell you, no matter how much it hurts you, that you cannot take Trent from him. You may be upset with me when the truth comes out, I know that, but we've been friends for years. I'm asking you to promise me this."

He knew more was being said on Jess's side because Bella didn't talk for a little while. "Alright. I'll be over and...I'll stop at Esme's to pick Edward up. He should be there, too. He'd want to be."

Bella was crying now as she held the phone tightly in her hand. Her knuckles were white. "I know we're close, Jess. I know."

Edward felt at a total loss. Stepping closer, he put his arm around Bella and rubbed her back. "We'll be there soon," she nodded again, then before hanging up, sighed loudly. Her shoulders quit shaking and she straightened a little. "No, Jess. It's not Lauren. She's your best friend for God's sake!"

Hanging up with Edward's wife, she tossed the phone on the couch, put her hand over her face and groaned. "She's so fucking dense..."

"You're really upset about this aren't you?" Edward asked, slightly surprised.

She looked at him like he was the dumbest person she'd ever met. "Okay, your wife is an idiot. I can't stand her. I never could. In fact, I hated her for the entire time you were together in high school because she could be with you and I couldn't..."

"I never even slept with her then or..."

"I know that. Still, it hurt. Anyway, of course I would be feeling at least a little guilty. I broke up your marriage. So, as happy as I am to see her suffer with this, she still is kind of very loosely a friend of mine and I'm not a horrible person so I do feel guilty about the situation. I'd feel worse if you were any other guy but you're you, Edward. I claimed you at seventeen and I'm not ashamed of that but a girl can still feel guilty."

"So, this is it? We're going to tell her?"

"Yeah. We should get going."

"I have no idea how she's going to react."

Edward led Bella inside, careful of not having too much physical contact with her in the process. If Jess figured things out before they could come clean, he didn't know how she'd react. Bella had been through enough shit in her life that he knew she'd take a few good swings at Jess if Jess started something. His wife was sitting at the table in the kitchen and she really did look like hell. She didn't say anything as Edward and Bella sat down across from her. Edward opened his mouth to at least say hi when she got right to the point, interrupting him. "Why is this such a damn secret, Edward? I have a right to know who my husband's been sleeping with. I've acted like I didn't want to know before but it's been killing me."

"Jess, you're not going to like what we have to say."

"It's not Angela...or Lauren...or even Vicky Smith..." she began to count them off on her fingers.

"It's me," Bella said, interrupting the frazzled woman.

Jess's eyes shot to Bella as the wine glass she was holding hit the tabletop and smashed. Thankfully, the glass was almost empty and there wasn't much to spill. "You? You did this? How? Dammit, Bella, you were my friend!"

"Jess, I'm sorry..." Bella began.

"You son of a bitch," Jess hissed, turning back to Edward. "I trusted you enough to believe that of all the girls Bella was a sister to you! She's the _godmother _of our child for Christ's sake! How fucking _dare _you?"

"Jess, please, just calm down for a minute," Edward said as calmly as possible. "Bella and I have a lot of history together. You know that. Jess, you know I love her. You've always known that but you didn't want to admit it to yourself. I didn't want to admit it either because I knew I shouldn't feel that way while I was with you but I can't help it. I shouldn't have married you, Jess..."

"Well," she snorted, "I guess that's at least one thing we can agree on."

"I love Trenton more than my own life and I'd give anything to keep him safe and happy but it wasn't meant to be for you and me."

"This is what you meant when I said I knew you and Bella's secret, isn't it? When I was talking about Jacob hitting her, you thought I was talking about you two sleeping together?"

"Yeah. I did," Edward admitted.

"Bella, I can't believe you would do this. I thought we were friends. This whole time you've been fucking my husband. I let you be a huge part of Trenton's life and this whole time you were fucking his father!"

"I never meant to hurt you, Jess. Edward and I just kind of...found each other..."

"Esme and Carlisle adopted you all those years ago. That makes this...like, fucked up. Even more fucked up than it already is."

"I loved her before she came to live with us!"

"He's the reason Esme and Carlisle took me in. Jess, my dad used to beat me. My mom didn't want me. Edward's family gave me a home. Please don't hold our relationship against us because of that. You have every right to be mad at us, to hate us both, but don't think we did this to intentionally hurt you."

"You really did only marry me because I was pregnant and because Bella had moved away. God, if I had waited until after Trent was born to go through with this marriage, it probably wouldn't have even happened..."

"Probably not," Edward answered honestly.

Jess just looked down at the glass that covered the table and shook her head. Edward wanted to make sure he made one thing very, very clear. "Trent loves Bella but we never let on that anything more than friendship is between us when he was around. Trent is your son not Bella's and both of us are respectful of that. I'm planning to stay with her once we get Trent used to the idea that I won't be living here anymore but eventually, I would like him to stay with us once in a while..."

"Edward, I can't talk about this right now. I...I think you guys should leave."

"Yeah. Okay..."

"You can come by tomorrow when Trenton gets back. I'll call you. I won't keep him from you."

"That's all I ask. You can have everything, the house, the car, anything that we bought together you can have. All I ask is that I keep my son. Life would also be simpler if I could keep the truck as well..."

"That has always been in your name only, remember?"

"Oh. Right.

"Jess, I never wanted things to come to this," Bella said, patting Edward's shoulder and then leaving the room. He heard the front door close and knew she'd be waiting patiently for him outside.

"I hate you for this," she spit out.

"I know."

"This...this really fucking hurts."

"I'm sorry. I just can't go on like this anymore. It's always been Bella but we had some good times together, you and I."

"I know we did. Mike wants to meet Trenton...officially." She added the second part as if she was just discussing the weather with him. He interrupted before she could continue.

"It's too soon...please..."

She raised a hand to quiet him. "I know. I told him no. I'm happy with him, though. He's given me more love than you will _ever_ be capable of."

"I deserved that," he whispered, standing up and wadding up a bunch of paper towels to clean up the table and not have shards cutting his hands open.

"You do deserve that...and you deserve worse. Bella was my friend. I trusted both of you. I trusted her with my son and I trusted that you just needed her in your life as a sister...not a lover."

"She's _not_ my sister, Jess," he bit out, throwing the mess into the trash can.

"I know. Not by blood. Still, I denied the possibility of you two being together because...it was easier to deny it than face it. So, even when we were teenagers you were already cheating on me?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I hope you fuck her over as bad as you did me. I want her to bleed the way I am over you. I don't even fucking love you but this fucking hurts, Eddie. No, I don't want that for her. I want_ you_ to bleed. I want you to lose her to Jacob. She still hasn't left him yet has she? You really think when he's beating her face in that she'll leave him and go to you? She's put up with it for this long, why would she change things up now?"

Edward looked down, not justifying that with an answer. Still, she was already getting what she wanted just by putting these ideas in his head. He was bleeding. The glass had managed to cut him between his thumb and pointer finger and his heart was splintering over the idea of truly losing Bella to Jacob. He had no doubt that if Jacob was angry enough, he would kill her. Of course, Jess hadn't meant death but it was all he could think of now.

"Goodbye, Jessie. Remember our deal. Trent is my world. Bella knows he comes first to me and I know you know that too."

**I plan for Part III to be the last installment and it will be aptly named, "You Bleed Just to Know You're Alive." It's already pretty much written and I'll update it as soon as I hear from you...so click that review button and leave me some love! While this chapter focused mainly on Edward's side of things with his family and Jess, Jacob and Bella play a large role in the next one. There's still daddyward but also confrontation, a little angst, at least one lemon, and lots more drama! Sooo, spread the word about the story...pimp it out...and it just might get Part III updated faster!**

**Follow me on Twitter as I once in a while will put up little snippets of previews and information on not only this story but Darkest Valley as well! Come join me ;) Letzigprincess (remove the space) **

**Hope to hear from you soon, Letzy xx**


	3. You Bleed Just To Know You're Alive

**I don't own Twilight but I will own up to an obsession with Robert Pattinson...oh, and the plot of this story is mine alone ;)**

**Special thanks to my kick-ass beta, X-NessieCullen-X and our mascot, Aiden! The girl gets paid in nothing more than sexy Rob pics that I have a habit of cramming her inbox and message feed with...not that she ever complains about that ;) Then again, who would?! Love ya, girlie!**

**Part 3**

**You Bleed Just to Know You're Alive**

Bella and Edward didn't say much as they drove back to Bella's apartment for the night. Wrapping a hand around her inner thigh, he pulled her to the middle of the cab and took comfort from feeling her against him. "You should have your seat belt on." She just grinned and shook her head. The rest of the ride was silent.

He unlocked the door to her apartment with his own keys and was surprised when she took them from his hand the second the door was closed, lazily dropped them onto the shoe mat, and kept a hold on his now empty hand. She didn't pull him, just guided him back to her bedroom. With her flip-flops kicked off by the door, he kicked off his shoes at the foot of the bed where she helped him to sit down. He watched as she went through slow, almost robotic motions: stripping off her watch, her bracelets and her bra-which she unhooked and pulled out from under her shirt, not revealing anything to Edward.

The shorts were off next and she was in just a gray V-neck tee and a pair of light purple cotton panties. Stalking over to him, she pushed his shirt over his head and then reached for the buckle on his jeans. He stood then, knowing it would be easier for her. When they were off, as well as his socks, she pulled the comforter down and climbed in. He was more than happy to follow. "No sex tonight. This is just me and you, Edward," she whispered in his ear as her body curled into his side.

"I love you," he whispered in response, bringing a hand up to run it through her hair.

"Your mom knows and now Jess. It went better than I was expecting but I can feel how tense you are. You need rest, babe."

"I need _you_," he argued.

"I'm right here."

This was without a doubt feeling like one of the most serious discussions they'd had in a long, long time. There was meaning behind their words and therefore what they were saying couldn't be taken at face value. "Bella, Jess knows. You know what you have to do next. I can do it if you want me to. It needs to be done, though. If I'm not who you want, then fine but not him. I won't allow you to exist in a world where a man hurts you that way. Never again."

"It's always been you," she breathed, her lips coming up to meet his. After about fifteen minutes of their tongues being intertwined, he realized that she had to be up early for work in the morning-her job sometimes demanded she worked Saturday mornings until eleven. Breaking away from her, he pulled her even closer before turning her away from him so that his face was buried in her hair and whispering the words that always calmed her all those many nights ago in his childhood bed. "Sweet dreams, Bells. I'm here."

Two hours later, his mind still wouldn't shut out the images that kept running through it of Bella and Jacob and how he could hurt her. The man was going to snap and Edward absolutely had to come up with a way to save her. He felt her stir and a few minutes later heard the sniffling. A wetness began to form on his bicep that Bella's head was now resting on. "Bells, I'm still here. I'm right here."

She grabbed onto his arm that was below her head and gripped, feeling his muscular arm and kissing the inside of it. "I'm sorry. I know. I'm just scared. I know I have to tell him...but...I'm afraid."

Edward hated himself. Her shirt had pulled up by her ribs and he ran his finger over the scars that Jacob had given her. "I've failed you," he said softly in a defeated tone, his arms pulling her so that she was on her back and he could lean up and over her.

When they were face to face, she shook her head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I swore I'd never let you get hurt. I'd always tell you that I was here, that there was nothing to fear, but I fucking failed you, Bells. My sweet Bells. I let this man break you literally and figuratively. I'm a fucking coward. I was man enough to put an end to a man hurting you all those years ago but now that I _am _a man, I didn't man up and stop it this time..."

"Shh. Stop it," she half begged him. Craning her neck to kiss his lips again, she let a few more tears fall. As she clung to his arms that were now encasing her, he saw her nipples harden despite the tears. When she let go to push her panties down, he had no doubt of what she needed. "Please," she begged and they both knew it had nothing to do with what they were talking about before.

Releasing his erection from his boxers, he rubbed the tip against Bella and held on tightly to her, kissing her lips and neck until she began to feel slick. This was so like those nights when she would sneak into his room, only tonight there was no condom to mess with. As tears continued to fall, she held even tighter to him and raised her hips. With one, smooth thrust, he was deep inside of her and let out a soft groan.

"I'm sorry for letting him hurt you, Bella. It won't happen again. You're mine now. For good."

Desperately, she let out a loud cry and gripped his arms, using them to pull herself up to meet him thrust for thrust. "Stay with me..."

"Always. I'm right here, Bells. I'm right here," he cried out as he felt her walls begin to pulse around him. That was all it took for him to spill into her. She was crying, he was exhausted, and they were both sweaty and panting. "I'll never fail you again."

His heart stopped. The little tremor in her voice had more to do with the fact that she was lying as it did that she was scared. It had been only been two weeks since they discussed what they were going to do about Jacob Black but never finished the discussion. Now, Jacob was coming for a visit. Gritting his teeth, he asked with a leveled tone into his phone, "It's him isn't it?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Bella..." he said slowly and angrily.

"I'm going to end this with him, Edward. He said he was coming and I want him to. I want to be done with this. He'll be here in a couple hours."

"You are so... Dammit, Bella! He's going to hurt you! Why didn't you just fucking tell him over the phone? Haven't you begged him to leave you alone before? Why open yourself up to another one of his visits? When is he coming? I'll be there."

"No, you won't." Her tone was sharp. Adamant.

"Fuck you, Bells!"

"Don't do this. Please, please don't do this. I can handle myself."

"You can't even say that without sounding like a complete liar. You can pull that shit with Ally but don't try it with me. I _know_ you, Bella."

"I'm sorry, Edward. You have to trust me. I have to go. I'll talk to you...in a few days." She hung up before he could say anything else.

A few days? Edward was livid. Bella had just called him while he was playing with Trent at the local playground. He walked a few feet away to answer the phone, knowing his son wouldn't notice considering he'd found another little boy to play trucks with. Trenton was just telling the little guy about his own daddy's truck and how fun it was. It was the only thing keeping Edward from breaking something.

He had spent most nights with Bella since Jessica had found out about their situation but so far Jess had been true to her word on Trenton. She never interfered with them and even allowed Trenton to stay once in a while with his favorite babysitter-Aunt Bella. That was the part that shocked the shit out of him but he wasn't going to argue. He figured it had something to do with Jess seeing Mike often and needing someone to take Trent while she was out. Of course, he had him in the evenings and on the weekends when these dates occurred but Bella was there during the day once in a while and Trenton always asked for Bella instead of going to his grandma's.

Since the night two weeks ago when Bella had broken down and decided to come clean with Jess, Edward was having trouble focusing on anything but getting her the hell away from Jacob. She was restless when she slept, waking him throughout the night to satisfy the need she had to get her mind off of things. He was more than willing to cooperate with her desires but she was ready to go like they were back in high school again. His body knew this sure as hell wasn't the case, though. He didn't spring back the way he used to.

"Daddy, I no want play trucks no more," Trenton said, standing and rubbing his eyes. Someone was sleepy.

"Why don't we head back to the house?" Edward asked. His son was known for his melt downs when he was tired.

"Nooo!"

"Trent, come on," Edward said sternly, walking over and picking him up, even though he fought his little boy fought it.

"I want Aunt Bella!" he shouted.

Edward froze. Was this just a tired little boy who was mad at him wanting someone else or did he connect her with Edward? Maybe he was smarter than they gave him credit for. "Buddy, Aunt Bella is...busy...today."

"I want to go swimming!"

"Alright, how about we make a deal? Why don't we go back to grammy and pappy's? If you take a nap, I'll let you play in the pool."

"Aunt Bella there?"

"No, bud. I bet Aunt Ally is, though."

Trenton just quit fighting and tucked his head into Edward's neck. Other parents shot him a large number of different looks. Some of the people just understood the difficulties of having a sleepy toddler. Others, though, knew of his personal life a little more and looked at him condescendingly. He tried to not flip those people off-there were kids around and that included Trent.

He was scared and on edge the whole time he was tucking Trenton into sleep at his parents. He had left Bella's that morning and knew that Jacob very easily could have announced his presence when he was already in Forks but he prayed that he at least gave Bella a few hours to prepare. The fact that Bella had called Edward at all told him that there was no risk of Jacob being there with her already. She was safe, hopefully, for a few more hours. He wouldn't risk calling Bella, though. He wouldn't risk her life. Groaning, he thought about just the fact that her life _was _at risk. He was done with this shit.

Alice was lounging by the pool when he stepped out onto the deck. "I need a favor. I need you to keep an eye on Trent for me. I'll let Jess know he's here. There's something I have to do."

Her face dropped into a frown. "What's wrong? You look...shaken."

"I just have to do something that I should have done years ago," he replied, bending down to kiss her forehead. "I meant what I said about Jazz. He's a good guy, Al. I'm happy for you both."

"Edward, wait," Alice called out as he turned to leave, her face looked stricken. "Tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me!"

"Make sure Trent gets to swim when he wakes up. I'll try to be back soon."

The next stop he had to make was his old home. He had put so much work into the place that it was literally his blood, sweat and tears that made it up. It bothered him that he no longer officially lived there but his son deserved to know that as his home and Edward was at least able to stay with Bella. He prayed that she would at least think to hide the few clothes and toiletries he had left over there. Panic pulsed through him again. Even though he was insanely pissed off at her for this, fear overrode every other emotion he felt. It wasn't that he was afraid of Jacob; it was that he was afraid of what Jacob would do to Bella.

Pushing through the front door, he heard hushed voices in the living room and found Jess and the guy he recognized as Mike watching a movie. "Edward, what are you doing here?" she asked, obviously annoyed. Then, looking behind him asked, "Where's Trent?"

"At my mom's. He's napping. Alice is there. I needed to run over here and pick something up."

"Oh, okay. Mike, this is my ex-husband, Edward. Edward, this is Mike."

He didn't think the customary 'It's nice to meet you" fit into their situation so he just nodded towards the guy awkwardly before heading up to the bedroom. Grabbing the key to the safe from under Jess's jewelry box, he made quick work of the lock and pulled out what he came for. He'd bought the gun when Trenton was a few weeks old and it came time for him to return to work from his paternity leave. He didn't like them being home without some sort of protection. Jess had thrown a hissy fit and refused to touch the thing. So, for years, it had been locked away. His other guns, the hunting rifles he'd accumulated over the years were at his parents' house locked away with the ones that belonged to his father and Emmett. Even Alice had a pink gun over there but he knew she'd never use it.

He made sure to lock everything back up as he tucked the gun into the waist band of his jeans. Jess would flip if she saw him carrying it. Grabbing a few bullets from the box under the bed, he had insisted they keep the gun and bullets separate when Jess said she wouldn't use it anyway, he stood back up. Shoving a handful into his pocket, he turned the light off and went back downstairs. "Jess, Trent's at my mom's and Alice said she'd be there with him. If...if you don't hear from me by eight o'clock or so...can you call there?"

"Edward, where are you going?"

"Mike, can I talk to you outside?"

Jess's eyes narrowed but Mike cleared his throat and stood. He was nowhere near as tall as Edward or as fit but he seemed nice enough. Average. A man who seemed to have himself together. As soon as they were out by the truck, Edward took a deep breath. "I know what can happen to kids whose parents hurt them. Foster parents, step parents, and even biological parents. Jess is a good person and it just didn't work out for us but Trenton is my son and my entire life. She said you wanted to meet him and she told you no for right now. I agree with that and it's ultimately her decision. Still, when you do meet him, you treat him with respect and you protect him like he's your own. I'm not asking you to pay for anything for him or provide for him but just make sure he knows he's safe. Even if you don't like him, fucking pretend. Got it?"

Mike nodded furiously. "Yeah. Absolutely. I've always wanted a family and I'm more than willing to meet and get to know Trent. I don't want to step on your toes, though, man."

"As long as we're good. I have to get going. Go back in to Jess. Good luck with things."

"Um, thanks."

He looked at the time on the dash. It was almost an hour and fifteen minutes since she'd called him. Pressing down a little harder on the gas, he prayed he wouldn't get pulled over as he didn't have a permit for the gun. Bella's apartment was above a little farmer's market owned by a kind old man who Edward had known since he was a little kid. The guy was constantly sending fresh fruit up to Bella and she would sometimes joke that at least she didn't have to worry about coming down with scurvy. There was parking in the back but if Jacob showed up while he was there, he'd suspect something was up so he pulled right up front and found a spot to park along the sidewalk.

Getting out of the truck, he walked through the market to the back door. Bella's car wasn't there and he knew she wasn't home at that point. Stifling a curse, he went back to his truck. He waited and waited, knowing better than to send her a text when she was with her bastard of a boyfriend. He didn't want to make things worse for her. _Where the hell are they?_

Mr. Claar came out holding a bag of apples and tapped on Edward's window. "Hey, Edward. I heard about you and Jessie. It's a shame but you're a good kid...and I know that little boy of yours is still gonna be cared for and all. Here are some of those green apples he likes so much." Reaching back for his wallet, Edward asked how much they were and the man waved him away. "They're on the house. You waiting for Bells?"

Edward said thanks and then nodded. "You know where she is?"

"No," he frowned. "I didn't see her car out back for a few hours now. There weren't any lights on upstairs..."

"She hasn't been home for a few hours?" Edward asked, slightly frantic.

"Nope." Then, giving Edward a knowing look, he shrugged. "I assumed she was with you."

Edward looked at the man and debated the pros and cons of lying and saying there was nothing between them. Still, if anyone knew about Bella and Edward, it would be Mr. Claar. He had to notice Edward's truck parked out back often enough. He decided to not argue.

"Bells is a good girl, Edward. I hope she's not in trouble..."

"I'll take care of it, Mr. Claar. Thanks for the apples." He pulled out carefully and went to floor it when he reached the main road but the sudden realization hit him that he had no clue where to go. Feeling helpless and defeated, he pulled over again to think when his phone rang. It was Alice.

**BPOV**

Bella was shaking as she stood at the airport waiting for Jacob to arrive. He called her right before his flight was leaving, expecting her to drop whatever she was doing that day so that she could be there to pick him up when he flew in. She had hoped to spend some time with Edward and Trent but had to call when she got off work to tell Edward she couldn't. After hanging up on Edward, something that made her sick to have to do, she went through the apartment and threw everything of Edward's into a large plastic tote which was labeled 'decorations'. She wondered which Jacob she'd get this time: the already angry, violent Jacob or the Jacob who brought her flowers and just wanted sex.

She was weak. She was pathetic. She knew that. Still, she had to do this on her own. She had to prove to herself that she could get herself out of the mess she made. Bella swore that she would do it this time. He had called and said he was on his way, giving very little warning and then hung up before she could argue. She wanted to tell him over the phone but she knew he'd come anyway and that would mean he'd have a whole plane ride to stew over it. It would have made matters worse. Surely Edward would be mad at her but it was better than him breaking the news to Jake. She couldn't stand the idea of him getting hurt because of her.

Jacob was as handsome as they come. His raven hair and dark eyes complimented his naturally tanned skin. Perfect teeth gave a brilliant smile and the confidence he seemed to exude always turned heads. Bella wished more than anything that he'd just find one of those other girls who fawned over him so much and leave her the hell alone. She refused to let him get what he wanted this time. She would play along long enough to get him to the car and then tell him there. He wouldn't hurt her in a public parking lot at an airport.

He approached her with a smile and she swallowed hard. The way his eyes were traveling over her body left very little doubt as to why he was there. Forcing a smile, she accepted the hug he was offering and whispered a weak 'hello'. "Bella, you shouldn't wear shirts cut that low in public. You never know what perverts you might attract. You like that, though, don't you? You like being used that way."

She hated that there were already tears in her eyes and automatically began to regret this. She should have asked someone to come along...even if it was a fucking police officer. "I'm, um, parked outside..."

He just looked at her like 'Where the hell else would you have parked?' but led her towards the doors. "I want to drive. I've had enough of being the passenger for one day."

"We need to..." He grabbed the keys from her hand and ignored her, going around to the driver's side and climbing in.

"Jake, really, we need to talk..."

"So talk. We have a drive ahead of us." He only hesitated to throw his duffel on the backseat.

As they were already pulling out the parking lot, she closed her eyes and stayed silent. She'd blown it. He had control of the vehicle and she knew there was no telling him until an hour later when they'd be at her apartment and he wouldn't try to wreck her car or drag her into the woods somewhere. "I, um, just wanted to know...how work was going..."

"Well," he gave a cocky grin. "I made partner. It's part of the reason I came here to talk to you. I don't know if you are over this 'wanting to be closer to your family' shit or not but I think it's time you move back with me. There's something else I want to tell you but I'll wait until we get to your place."

After about ten minutes of silence, Jacob reached over and ran his hand up her outer thigh. She choked back bile and squeezed her eyes shut. Her legs stayed clenched together but he tried to pull her leg to allow his hand between them. "Bella, I haven't seen you in weeks. Open up for me, baby..."

"Jake, I'm sorry. I'm...I'm not feeling well."

"You really piss me off, Bells," he said with a smile but his tone was harsh. She saw him flash his white teeth. She tried not to cry. Edward was right. She was so fucking stupid. If she could just get through this visit, maybe she could wait until he got back home and then tell him she was done. She shook her head at herself; she told herself that every time he came to see her and she never did anything about it.

The rest of the ride was absolutely silent. It was deafening and she was trying not to let him feel her shaking under his hand. When she allowed the chills to overtake her, he reached over and turned up the heat, making it feel stifling. Bella had to remind herself that Edward would come to her if she hadn't shut him out. This was her bed and now she had to lie in it. Bella silently prayed the whole way home that she'd be strong enough to cut ties with Jake and that Edward wouldn't hate her. She caught a tear before it could slide down her cheek. Edward said he failed her but she failed him. He'd save her once but he shouldn't have to do it again. This was all on her. She wasn't a kid anymore.

Her phone rang and she jumped, grabbing it from the console's cup holder and angling it towards her. Alice. Biting down on her lip, she debated on whether or not to answer. "Answer it, Bella. Holy shit. How long are you going to let it ring for?"

He pulled the car into a spot behind her apartment and she numbly answered with a solemn 'hello'. "Bella? Have you heard from..."

Bella immediately cut her off. "Jake's here. He came in to visit me. I'll call you later, okay? Thanks. Bye!" Ending the call, she took a deep breath.

"Who the hell was that?"

"Alice."

"Your sister?"

"Um, yeah." She unbuckled her seat belt and Jake grabbed his duffel bag before taking her hand and squeezing it tight. Fear made it so that she had trouble controlling her body causing her to stumble over her feet as they made their way inside and he let her fall, not bothering to hold her up. She knew he could hold her; there were more times than she could count that he had plenty of strength to hold her down.

He looked around like he always did as if it was his first time there. "Grab me a beer, baby."

She was pulling herself up off the floor while he plopped down in her recliner. Just yesterday Trenton had sat there and played with the little replica of his daddy's truck that he loved so much. She swallowed hard. God, how she loved that little boy. Edward was right about that as well. Trent had a mother but Bella would always treat him as her own.

She came back and handed Jake a beer but he was more interested in her. She faked a smile as he yanked her into his lap and kissed her neck. "Are you ready for your surprise?" he asked, setting the unopened beer on the coffee table.

Another fake smile later and she was watching him pull a box from his pocket. She thought she might be sick. "Bella, I already spoke with the priest at my family's church and I made arrangements with a real estate agent to come take us to look at houses." Opening the box to reveal a ridiculously large diamond ring, he took her hand and slid it on.

"Jake..."

"I can't wait for you to become Mrs. Jacob William Black. You'll do great. We need to do something about this shyness of yours but you'll come around eventually." Bella was breathing heavily, unable to take her eyes off the too-big ring. This wasn't at all what she had been expecting and wasn't able to fully accept what was happening. She knew she had to fight this but had no idea how. Her face flew to his as soon as the next sentence was out of his mouth. "I can't wait to start a family with you." _No._ Bella nearly had a panic attack over that one. "Stand up, Bella."

On shaking legs, she crawled off of his lap and stood like a zombie staring at him. "Jake, I..."

Reaching over, he unbuttoned the top button of her jeans and she instinctively backed away. "Bella, take them off. I want to see you."

For once in her life, Bella managed to find her voice. "No." It came out hard and convicted.

"Bella, I'm not playing this fucking game. Take. Them. Off."

"Jake, please. I don't want to..."

Pushing to his feet, he grabbed her by the waist and shook her a little. "I came all this way to see you. I asked you to marry me. Take. Them. Off."

When she looked away from him and still refused, he grabbed her by the waist band of her jeans and all but dragged her back to her bedroom. She fought him the whole way. For once in her life, she tried to fight back and even though it was just pissing him off more, it felt exhilarating. Until, that is, she took a firm punch to the head. Dizziness caused her to sag into him and she was so disoriented that she couldn't stand on her own. Jake wasn't as smart as her father. The bruise would appear just beside her temple for all to see. She had no idea why that pissed her off even more.

"There's someone else!" she screamed through the confusion and the momentary nausea.

That caught Jacob's attention. He was currently pulling off his shirt and kicking off his shoes but he stopped and looked at her with disdain. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I found someone else. Someone who loves me..." she was interrupted when Jake grabbed her by the hair and pulled her towards him. Refusing to let him talk, she also added. "I'd rather be dead than be your wife! Go ahead and kill me!"

"Who is he? Who are you fucking behind my back? You stupid, little slut...I could have given you anything you wanted! Cars, money..."

"Fuck you!" Bella spat.

"Gladly," he sneered, pulling off his belt with the hand that wasn't holding her wrist. He was squeezing her so hard she could feel her fingers starting to tingle from lack of circulation. Kicking with her feet, Bella managed to nail him in the stomach but he just grabbed her legs and rolled her onto her stomach. She fought to pull herself away but he wasn't letting go and she only managed to pull the comforter towards her.

Turning to face him, she begged him to stop when she saw he was raising his belt as if to bring it down across her back. "I'm sorry!" she yelled, giving up her strong facade and turning her face so she wouldn't have to see him hit her.

She was crying and her entire body was shaking but the blow never came. "No, she isn't sorry!" a deep voice rang out over her sobs. A loud crash sounded behind her and she turned to find that Edward had joined them in her bedroom. Realizing she could move, she pulled herself off the bed hands first and landed on her side. Her head spun when she tried to stand and then she saw it. Edward had a gun.

Taking a step forward, her arm outstretched, she screamed his name loud enough to get his attention. He looked at her with concern on his face and as she fell to the ground again, unable to get her body to work with her, she saw him waiver. Trenton was too important to allow this to happen. He didn't need a father in prison. "Edward, please. I can't..." Her vision was starting to get fuzzy and the two men were distorted. Voices filled the distance but she was unable to look away from Edward. "I need you," she managed to get out as her head lolled to the side.

Another set of arms came around her and lifted her to his chest. Bella remembered back to all those years ago when Carlisle Cullen had done this exact same thing. She had been beaten and shoved into the kitchen cupboard under the sink at Charlie's when Carlisle had come for her. Now, he was rescuing her again, but this time, the headache was too much. Closing her eyes, she gave into the darkness.

"...have no right! Where the fuck is she? Get out of my fucking way! I _am_ family!" Bella came awake with a start and quickly regretted that her eyes had flown open. She had to be sporting the worst headache in the history of mankind. Then, she remembered what happened and froze. The voice causing all the commotion in the hallway was Edward's. The hallway belonged to a hospital. Reaching up, she unclipped and pulled out the wires that kept her confined. Edward was a few feet away. She had to get to him.

A panicked nurse came running in, "Isabella, you have to stay in bed."

"I need to see Edward Cullen. He's in the hallway..." Bella rasped.

"What does he look like? I'll get him..."

"He's the one screaming at your friends," Bella replied with more acid in her tone than she'd intended.

"Your parents are out there with him now..."

Bella wasn't up to explaining that they weren't her parents. Pushing past the scrub-clad woman, she stepped into the hallway and thanked God she remembered to keep a hand on the back of her gown. "Edward!" she called out, though her voice was hoarse enough that she was surprised he heard and turned to face her. The nurse was chastising her in frustration but she ignored the woman.

A strange expression fell over him and he headed straight for her. "Bella, what the fuck are you doing?" It was obvious that he was pissed but he was still gentle with her as he wrapped his arms around her and hauled her back into the room. Practically tossing her onto the bed, he grabbed the first thing he saw that she'd pulled off-the blood pressure clip that was on her finger and stuck it back on.

"Sir, let_ me_ get her settled..." the poor nurse practically begged, trying to get Edward to back up and let her take over. When he ignored her, she crossed her arms. "I'm two seconds from calling security if my _friends _that you were screaming at haven't done so already..."

"Son, let the nurse do it," Carlisle said firmly as he stood in the doorway. The nurse gave him a small smile. Obviously, she knew him.

Relenting, Edward took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. The nurse took over, fixing Bella back up again before looking to Edward. "Don't push me, sir. She's under a lot of stress. Don't give me reason to have you escorted out of here. I don't care if you are Dr. Cullen's son or not. Don't tempt me."

As soon as the nurse was gone, Esme stepped in and Bella saw that there were tears on her cheeks. Emmett stood in the hallway looking in at them. After Esme sat down on the bed and pulled Bella into her chest, smoothing her hair, Bella saw Carlisle staring at Edward. Touching is wife's shoulder, he whispered something to her and they left, promising to come back soon. The second they were gone, she looked to Edward. All he did was grab her hand and snatch the diamond ring from it.

With a lowered voice, but one that still exuded anger, he grit his teeth and asked, "What the hell did you think you were doing? How could you do this? How could you do this to yourself...to me?"

"I messed up."

"Jess and I are over. She's okay with you being around Trent. This is what we've wanted for so long and you fucking pull shit like this. Why, Bella?"

"Why don't you ask Jake? He'll tell you how_ stupid_ I am. Him and my father both, Edward. They'll tell you," she whispered angrily.

His face fell as he pulled at his hair and rubbed his face. "You're_ not _stupid, Bella," he said slowly as if he was talking to someone who was Trenton's age. Still, it was better than him being so angry.

"I thought I could handle it," Bella said as strongly as she could. "I was wrong."

"Bella, you are many things but stupid and a fighter are not included on that particular list. You should have told him before he got here. You should have called the cops. You should have..."

"I fought back, Edward. I finally fought back," Bella cried.

He plopped down in the chair that was positioned by her bed and put his head in his hands. "He could have...he was trying to... Do you want me to order a rape kit?" he managed.

Bella's stomach turned. She wished he were closer. She wanted to take his hand to offer encouragement. "No. It didn't get that far. We were both pretty much clothed when you came in..."

"He could have done even worse than that! Do you understand how badly this could have ended? Do you know how it feels to hear the person you love screaming and begging someone to stop hurting them? I could've done more in the past. I should have put a stop to this when I heard you pretending that you were happy with him around our friends and family. I _completely_ failed you. I take responsibility for that but I don't see how you could have gone behind my back after all of this and take the guy on yourself."

"You had a gun," Bella stated suddenly, not really knowing why it came out accusatory.

"I wanted to make sure that I could protect you. I never met the guy and had no clue what he was like. He could have been a sumo wrestler for all I knew. I wasn't going to risk letting him hurt you all because I wasn't strong enough to take him down."

"Did you...did you shoot..."

"No. I didn't. I _wanted_ to, though. I wanted to hurt him enough to make him feel pain for the rest of his life...but Em and my dad showed up."

"Did you tell them what was going on?"

"Bella, Alice already knew about it. She knew about what Jacob was doing to you. She knew about us, too. She always has. I dropped Trent off with Ally after talking to you and she knew something was up. She called them because she suspected I was going to do something stupid when she found out Jacob was with you."

"You brought a _gun_," Bella reminded him warily, resting her head back as a wave of dizziness hit her again."You could be in prison for _murder _right now..."

"I was acting in defense of you. Even if I did end up in jail, I could live with that."

"You'd miss Trenton. That wouldn't be fair to him, either. For what it's worth, I'd miss you as well."

Edward became quiet for a minute and then rubbed his face again. "I could have lost you forever, Bella. He could have _killed _you."

"He didn't, though," she whispered.

"You hurt me. When I saw you fall to the floor..." he shook his head as it fell into his hands. "That's what stopped me from killing him. I was mad enough to do it but you needed help and I had to make sure you got it. Dad and Em are only part of the reason I didn't keep fighting him."

"Where is he?" she asked in alarm, just realizing that if he wasn't dead that meant he was somewhere.

"He was arrested. My dad called the police as soon as Ally called him."

"Arrested? Oh..."

"Bella, the police are going to want to talk to you and should be here soon. You'll be fine but you need to tell them the truth. All of it. I still have the pictures on my phone from that night with the vase if you don't have them."

"I don't have my phone..." She frowned, looking around the room. "Edward, I really don't want to be here. I want to go home."

"You can't. They think you have a concussion and want you to stay for observation."

"Can't Carlisle talk to them?"

"No, Bella. You're staying," he said firmly.

They became quiet for a long while and when he did open up his mouth to saying something, there was a knock on the door. Alice came in to say hi and then two uniformed cops walked in. They asked Alice and Edward to leave. Bella reached for him at first, panicked, but he literally shrugged her off and told her she'd be okay. Something was off with him and she began to feel a little sick. This time it wasn't because of her head. After a lot of hesitation, she eventually gave in and started her story. She told them everything, showed them her bruises while they took pictures, and she handed them Edward's phone that he had left behind with the picture of her ribs on it.

Both officers looked genuinely upset and angry for her and the female officer even reached over to pat her shoulder. "We're going to do what we can for you but we suggest a restraining order. I'll get to work on it. We'll probably have you come down to the station in a few days. Relax for now. I'm hoping we have enough to hold him but if we don't we'll make sure someone keeps close watch on you and your apartment."

Bella just nodded numbly and the officers left. Turning to look out the window, Alice came back in unaccompanied by the person she really wanted. "He took Trent home," Alice said, as if she could see the disappointment on Bella's face.

"He's never going to forgive me for this."

"Give him time. You scared the hell out of him today, Bella. Besides, he has to come back. He said you have his phone." Her little smile did very little to appease Bella. "Relax. He loves you. That's why this is all so hard on him. Really, he just needs to calm down a little."

"I only did this because I didn't want him to get hurt and because I was sick of being pushed around-literally-by men. I'm done with it, Ally."

"I know."

"You've known this whole time, like since high school, about Edward and I, haven't you?"

"Yeah. I used to see you leaving his room or going into it at night. I was also there that first morning you stayed with us and saw the way he took your hand and calmed you down. I always knew you two would never end up as brother and sister."

After Alice left and Esme came in, the doctor came in to speak with her as well as a nurse and they gave her the rundown of her injuries-as if she couldn't feel them. When they left and Edward still hadn't returned almost two hours later, Bella looked out the window opposite of Esme and let herself cry. She felt Esme take her hand but she couldn't focus on anything the woman was saying. Was it possible that she lost her love by doing something he'd begged her to do for years? The woman who took her in, who had been so mad at her a few weeks ago, now held her tightly late into the evening and encouraged her by saying that Edward would be back...to just give him time.

He did come back to see her, the next day. She'd gone all night sick at the possibility that it was over completely between them and when he walked into her room with dark circles under his eyes and the rumpled shirt he had on yesterday, her breath caught. When he reached for the phone, she saw that his knuckles were swollen and there was a small bruise on his right cheek bone. "Edward, come here," Bella asked softly, patting the bed next to her.

He did as asked and when she reached towards him for a hug, he complied. Still, he seemed distant. She cleared her throat and mumbled into his shoulder. "I get to go home today."

"How are you feeling?" The words came out like he was being stubborn and didn't want to ask them but his body didn't give him the chance to remain silent.

"I'm okay. My head still hurts a little but I'll be okay."

"Where do you want to go home to?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you okay with going back to the apartment?"

"Yeah. They said they're going to have someone watching me in case Jake ends up getting out of jail. He has money. I know he can afford bail if it comes to that. I really just want to go home."

"Alright," he said before taking a deep breath. He still had his arms around her and she could feel it. "Bella, Alice is going to stay with you for a few days...make sure you're okay on your own..."

Bella's heart nearly stopped as she instinctively tightened her grasp on him. She didn't want Alice. She wanted him. "Edward, please..."

"I need space for a little while," he replied, but his actions were the opposite of his words as he pulled her even closer into him. She could feel him bury his head into her shoulder. They sat like that for a long time.

When he pulled away, she felt her heart breaking and realized how he must have felt when she walked away from him to leave for college. This wasn't about revenge, though, this was about her having done something stupid and making him wonder if she was still what he wanted. She began to cry again. "I love you but this...I need to get things in order with my son anyway." Standing up, he kissed her on the lips and walked out of the room. Just like that, he was gone. Everything Jacob had ever done to her didn't even hold a candle to the pain she now felt. Her world had just shattered.

**EPOV**

It was one o'clock in the afternoon and yet Edward was lying on his childhood bed completely exhausted and unable to sleep. He wanted to scream, to hurt something. He wanted to do anything that would take away what he was feeling. Alice would be getting Bella ready to be discharged and he felt like the world's biggest asshole for not being there. There was just too much doubt in his mind over what was going on. Bella had said she was too afraid to end it, for years that was what she had told him. Why should he believe that she would end it now? After all this time of playing Jacob Black's little play thing, why would she suddenly find the courage to do it now? Was it possible that she never intended to? Could it be that what he'd walked into was the norm for them?

He was in physical pain over the situation. Remembering Bella as she was being held down by Jacob, seeing him raise that belt, it literally turned his stomach. When she had reached out to him, begging him to help her, all he felt was anger. Not towards her but towards her attacker. It wasn't until his dad carried her out that he had seen the ring on her finger and if Emmett hadn't been there, Jacob would have been dead. Bella was right, he'd acted irresponsibly. He had made a bad call that could have left Trent without him while Edward sat in prison. He hated himself. He hated the situation. He wanted Bella.

As sick as that realization was, he felt awful. He truly thought he could walk away from her to allow himself time to think but no thinking was really being done. It was a continuous circle: blame her, blame Jacob, blame himself. Over and over again, that's all it was. It still never changed the deep-seeded feeling that he needed to be with her. Remembering the way she called out to him, telling him she needed him, made a fresh round of tears come to the forefront. He felt like such a pussy. There was just something about Bella that made him need her just as much as she needed him. It had always been that way.

"Dude!" Emmett called from the doorway. "You're being a major dumb-ass right now. You do know that, right?"

Edward just groaned in response before flipping his brother off. Emmett came in and sat down then. "So you've been bedding little Bella this whole damn time?"

Edward glared at him before shaking his head. "I don't want a lecture, Em..."

"Who's lecturing? I'm just a little surprised. I didn't know about any of this until I ran into Jess at the store. I got quite an earful and then found out like two days later from Ally that it was true. Why did you never say anything to me?"

"Mom and dad didn't want us together. We didn't tell anyone. At all."

"Wow. So, you done being a gun-yielding maniac?"

"I guess I did kind of lose it."

"Kind of? Yeah. I'd say. The gun is in the glove compartment of my Jeep by the way. I think I'll hold onto it for a while, Rambo."

"Thanks, Em. I almost made a really big mistake."

Emmett just shrugged, "He would have deserved it. I would have liked to get a few punches in myself when I heard what was going on but you were beating his face in enough for both of us. I literally would have just been beating a dead horse."

Edward rolled his eyes at the little joke and then laid back against his pillows. "I only would have regretted it for Trent. He needs me. I don't care who Jess brings into his life, he's still mine and no one will ever be better than what I can be for him."

"So, are you and Bells done now, though? I know you just left Jess but if you've been sleeping with Bella I assume there's some type of relationship still there between you and Bells."

"No. We'll never be done."

"Like I said before, you're being a total dumb-ass. She's getting out of the _hospital_ today after her abusive boyfriend nearly _raped _her. Perhaps she could need support, _asshole_."

Edward flinched at the truth he'd been fighting with himself over since coming back from the hospital the night before after dropping Trent off at Jess's. It killed him that morning to pull away from Bella like he did...like he was. "Since when did you turn into Dr. Phil?"

"Since my little brother is breaking someone I love like a sister's heart and fucking up his chance to be with her for real now. Jess and you are done. Jacob's out of the picture. Mom and everyone else knows the situation. After all that, here you are like some pussy hiding out and letting Bella feel like you hate her..."

"I don't hate her!"

"Then why aren't you there with her?"

Edward didn't think 'because she did something dumb yesterday' qualified. It seemed insubstantial after thinking about her being sent home feeling like he didn't want her anymore. He hated when his brother was right. "You're right," Edward huffed, angry at himself.

"Oh, I know I am. I also know that you should be thanking me for all those condoms you used to steal from my room when you were being a teenager with raging hormones. I assumed that mom was throwing them away. You're welcome, _bro_, for the fact that you didn't knock Bells up in high school."

Edward couldn't help but chuckle a little at that before getting up and going towards his closet. "Don't be so full of yourself, Em. Still, thanks for the condoms."

"Where are you going?"

"I've decided I've been an asshole for long enough. Wouldn't you agree?"

"You said it," Emmett shot back with a one shouldered shrug.

Bella's apartment was quiet when he unlocked the door with his key and stepped inside. He smiled at the three foot tall fruit basket sitting on the living room floor. Alice came out of the bedroom then, jumping when she saw him standing there. "You scared the hell out me!" she whispered.

"I'm sorry. I should have let you know I was coming."

"How is she?"

"She's fine, no thanks to you. I still think you're being a dick. She told me what happened, Edward. She doesn't fucking love him and I have no clue what you're trying to prove by treating her like you want nothing to do with her right now but it's_ very _shitty."

"She had a ring on her finger," he blurted, as if that was a capital offense.

"Maybe you should ask her if that's even what she wanted. Get over yourself for ten seconds and talk to her. You look just as bad as she does and you weren't the one that was beaten yesterday." At that, Edward walked away and went over to her bedroom door. "Edward, she's finally sleeping! She's been crying for you all damn morning! Leave her be!"

Ignoring his little sister, he headed into the darkened bedroom and climbed carefully onto the bed. Her eyelids were swollen, her hair was a mess, there were dried tears on her cheeks, and she was whimpering every now and then in her sleep. He was the one who deserved to be shot. She flinched a little when he put his arm around her and he wondered if she would want him there at all. When her breathing evened out again, he kept hold of her and tried to figure out what to say when she woke up.

He wanted her to know that what she did was wrong but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he did this to hurt her. Subconsciously, he wanted her to feel pain. After all those years of her being away, of her leaving him and now this. He wanted her to hurt. That thought alone made him want to die. He had failed her yet again. According to Alice, she was more hurt by him than what Jacob had tried to do. He was no different from the other men in her life, in fact, he was worse. He never saw her so shaken in his entire life. Sure, she'd been upset last night but she never responded this way during the aftermath.

So, he laid there with her for three hours. He knew she needed rest as the hospital would have kept her up most of the night due to the possible concussion. Bella had always hated hospitals, a fear Charlie Swan instilled in her so she wouldn't be tempted to seek help for the injuries he gave her. Guilt made it hard to breathe when he thought of leaving her alone from early in the evening through the night and into late morning. He could have been there most of that time and he should have fought to be able to stay with her during the night. She'd been through hell over the past twenty four hours and he had pretty much forced her to walk through it on her own.

Bella had moved a little over the past few hours and he tried to make sure she had the room she needed so that she wouldn't wake up. Alice had left a while ago. He couldn't bring himself to move away from Bella or else he would have answered the phone that was ringing in his pocket. Finally, the moment came when she opened her eyes and looked directly into his. Her mouth opened as if shocked and she went to back away from him. He wouldn't let her go.

"I'm sorry," the strangled words came out as he pulled her tightly into him. She didn't seem to know what to do but she didn't fight him. When he tucked her head into his shoulder, she began to cry and he pulled them both up into a bit of a sitting position. "I fucked up. I left you. I shouldn't have left you..."

"I did this. Not you..."

"Bella, this is my fault, too. I've begged you to end it with him but I...I mean, you did try to end it, right?"

"He...I wanted to...and then he...put the ring on me..." she was obviously overwhelmed and he pulled away to give her room to breathe. Reaching into his jeans pocket, he set the ring on the bed so she could see it.

"Tell me what happened from the beginning."

Taking a deep breath, she launched into the story from him calling her that morning while she was leaving work to the sad excuse for a proposal to Jacob dragging her back to the bedroom. He felt awful over the assumption he'd made that Bella willingly accepted the proposal. When she was finished, she looked down at her hands and shook her head. "I made a mistake. I know that. I really did plan to break everything off while we were at the airport but when he took my keys, I got scared. I never wanted any of this. All I could think of when he was here was you and Trent and how much I wished I could be spending my day with you guys. I don't love him, Edward. I never, ever even thought I did."

He wanted to tell her it was dumb, that she should have called the police...or just not shown up to get Jacob from the airport at all, but he knew it wasn't going to change what did happen. Knowing that Bella wanted him and had no intention on continuing things with the asshole she called a boyfriend made him feel one hundred times better about the situation.

"Are we okay?" he asked. "I never intended for you to think I was walking away from you for forever. I was upset and made a stupid call. I shouldn't have left you at the hospital like that."

"I'm not a child," she said, her voice wavering though she was trying to sound strong. "I don't need you to care for me like you do Trenton. I can handle myself."

"Is that what you want? To be on your own?"

Her eyes widened. "No! I just don't want you to think I only want you around to protect me. I love you. I want a leveled playing field with us. I want us to both feel we need each other, not just me needing you..."

"Bella," he practically gasped."If you don't think I need you then you're insane. You were gone for a few years and I ended up making the biggest mistake of my life by marrying someone who wasn't right for me just because I was upset with you and was lonely. I love having Trent but I never should have gotten married. Then, last night, I didn't sleep at all. I actually went for a jog at three thirty this morning. Do you know who does that? Crazy people who are lovesick, that's who."

Bella gave a small laugh and he felt like crying it sounded so good. "You should have ran your cute butt over to the damn hospital. I wasn't really even allowed to sleep so when I could force my mind to shut off, someone was waking me up every ten minutes. I could have used the company."

"I'm sorry, baby," he leaned over and kissed her forehead, then her cheek and eventually her mouth. "How much sleep did they actually let you get?"

"A couple hours over the whole night," she said, her eyes heavy. "I was scared that you...weren't coming back. I mean, I know I had your phone but I didn't think you would come back for me..."

"I was stupid. I was panicked and stupid and when mom said that Ally was down in the lobby with Trent, I decided to take him home to Jess where he could at least play. I know I should have come back...I just...I was stupid..." he shrugged, as if there was no other way he could defend himself.

Trying to clear her throat, she frowned. "I need some water. I'll be back..." but as she went to stand she let out a hiss and brought a hand to her forehead.

"Bella?" he asked, concern dripping over her name.

"I'm okay," she waved his hand away as he reached out to steady her. "I just got up too fast."

"Lay back down," he ordered going around the bed and heading towards the doorway. "I'll handle it."

He returned with a bottle of water and some Tylenol. Once she took two of the pills and chugged the whole bottle of water, he helped her into the bathroom and then back to bed. Of course, she protested the whole time that she didn't need help. The shorts she had put on when she got home revealed goose bumps on her legs so he found her a pair of old sweats and helped her into them. Finally, she was ready to lay down. "Edward?" she asked through a yawn, her eyes wide, though.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you leaving again?"

"No. I haven't slept much more than you have. If you'll have me, I'd love to sleep the rest of the day away with you."

"That's all I want right now. What about Trent, though? Do you need to pick him up or anything? I don't want you to sleep through his bedtime..."

Edward smirked at her. "I don't think you've ever reminded me about my son before."

"I've never felt the need to. You're a little strung out today," she said with a bit of a frown.

"Well," he laughed. "As usual, you didn't need to. Jess knows some of what happened and I told Trent I was going to go see you and make sure you were feeling better. I told him you were just sick. I haven't seen him since bedtime last night but Jess promised she'd read him an extra story for me. I'm glad she's cool with me being there to tuck him in at night. I just leave after he's asleep to either come here or mom and dad's. He told me to give you a big hug and kiss your boo-boo."

"Your son gives good advice," she snuggled into him.

"My mom and Alice both called me while you were sleeping but I didn't get to call them back. I sent a text saying that we both needed sleep and we'd call them tomorrow. Everyone's worried about you."

"I love your family. I always have."

"They're your family, too. Enough about all this, though. Go to sleep."

"Promise you'll be here when I wake up?"

"Absolutely."

The next day, Edward woke with his body wrapped around Bella. She was muttering something in her sleep and he smiled, knowing it wasn't something to wake her over. She always made sounds in her sleep. What did wake him, he now realized, was someone knocking on the front door. Trying to untangle his limbs from Bella's without waking her, he sighed and decided that the person better have a damn good reason to be bothering them. He could feel his hair sticking up as he padded barefoot into the living room and chose to leave it the way it was. His mom and Alice were likely waiting for their chance to see Bella but they should have called first. He'd thrown on a pair of old sweatpants that Bella had pointed out were in a tote under the bed the night before.

Still shirtless, with bed head and unfocused eyes, he twisted the lock and threw the door open. "Ally..." he began, ready to ream out his little sister after she had been the one to lecture him on Bella needing her rest. It wasn't Alice. Jess was standing there holding Trenton's hand. The second Trent looked up at him, the little boy's chin began to quiver.

Jess took him in with wide-eyes and a deep breath before looking away in embarrassment, despite the fact that she'd seen him less clothed before. "I'm sorry," she blurted. "I tried to call. I just assumed...well, Trent's really upset that you weren't there for bedtime like you have been these past few weeks and he's worried about...her."

Edward saw that Jess was looking behind him, a strange expression on her face, and he found Bella wrapped in a pink flannel robe standing in the doorway to the living room. Both girls were definitely apprehensive of each other. "Trent, come here, buddy," Edward said as he knelt and held out his arms. His son ran to them a second later.

"Jess, I should have just ran home to tuck him in..."

"No. No, it's okay. I understand what happened. I get it. If you want me to take him back home so Bella can rest, I will. He's been really cranky and kind of mopey since yesterday when you brought him home..."

Edward lifted his son in his arms and squeezed him tight before kissing his forehead. "What's going on, buddy?"

"Aunt Bells is sick."

Edward felt awful at that point. "Trenton, no. Bella's going to be okay. Daddy's going to help her, okay?"

"I make this..." he said, holding up a piece of paper that was very wrinkled. There were crayon scribbles all over the white paper and Edward took it in without saying anything, hoping that Trent would enlighten him on what exactly it was for. "Aunt Bells get not sick. I make a card..."

Bella stepped towards them, looking to Jess hesitantly at first and then came towards Edward and Trent. Trent held the card out to her with a sad smile on his face and she kissed his cheek before taking it. Edward watched as she studied it, a smile coming across her face, and she put a finger under Trent's chin to lift it off Edward's shoulder. "Well, what do you know?" she asked in a slightly fake but very happy voice. "It worked! I feel so much better!"

Trent gave out a loud laugh and reached for her. Edward had to readjust his position so he didn't drop the flailing toddler. Taking a deep breath, Edward looked to Jess. "We'll keep him here with us for a little while if that's okay. I'll drop him off this afternoon..."

"Edward, it's already two," Jess replied with a confused expression.

"In the afternoon?" he exclaimed, shocked that they had slept for so long.

Jessica just rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. "I'll be home. Just give me a call before you drop him off in case I run out to the store or something. Are you sure this is okay...with you..." She asked this last part as she looked past her ex and her son to Bella.

Bella just smiled and nodded. "I love having him here. He's always welcome."

"Alright, well, I'll see you later." Leaning in, she gave Trent a kiss on the cheek and told him she loved him. He said it back and grinned but buried his face into Edward's chest afterward.

Edward let her go, not really having anything to say, and carried Trent to the couch. "Bella, really, if you're not up to us both being here, I'll understand. I just don't want to leave him if he's upset like this..."

"Stop. You two together are my favorite thing to watch. I feel better already just having you two on my couch."

Edward felt Trent slipping a little and looked down to see his that he son had fallen asleep. "Well, let me set him down and I'll help you into a bath."

"I'm not an invalid."

"You're alive. He's asleep and should be since he hasn't slept much lately. I want to let my son get some rest and I want to be with you until he wakes up. I thought I lost you, Bells. I need to just...be sure that you're okay..."

"It wasn't that serious, Edward," she breathed out but let him lead her to the bathroom. He ignored that, sitting down on the closed toilet seat and reaching over to turn on the water. When it was clear that there would be no comment from him, she muttered, "I was the one who almost lost you."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and then pulled her into his lap. "You'll never lose me. I tried to stay away from you for days when my parent's first brought you home. I tried to get over you when you were away at school. Hell, I even tried to tell myself that the affair between you and I shouldn't be happening. I couldn't. I was an idiot to think I could put space between us last night. I also hate myself right now for trying."

"I'm the one who messed up. Jacob is right about a few things... I'm not always that smart..."

Ice flooded his veins and he clenched his fists against her hips. Jacob was absolutely wrong about that. His Bella was smart, smarter than he ever was. She knew if she hadn't gone away and cut ties with him that even weekly phone calls would be too much to keep the distance between them. That was always the problem with their relationship, the farther they were pulled a part, the harder they fell. "No more trying to leave, okay. Neither of us. Ever again. We suck when we're apart, Bells," he smirked.

He held her tight while she laughed and played with his hair. "We do kind of suck when we're separated. It's like we can't function without each other..."

"Yeah, well, know this. We might not make the smartest choices when we're not together but you are not stupid. I never want to hear you say that about yourself again. Jacob was never right when it came to you. Do you hear me, Bella?" he asked, turning his head awkwardly so that he could look her in the eyes.

She smiled and kissed him hard on the lips. "I love you so fucking much."

"What was that for?" he asked with a chuckle, bringing one hand up to touch his lips.

"Jacob and my dad used to order me around. Constantly. They always took that tone with me..."

"Shit. I didn't mean to..."

"No, it's not like that. That's the point. You could order me to do just about anything and it wouldn't feel like that...an order. I trust you. Edward, before you, I have never trusted anyone. Not my mother, and none of my friends, and not even your parents. You make me feel happy and safe...and like I don't have to constantly be on guard and afraid. I've never _had _to afraid of you. I've given you my entire self over the years and I've never had to regret it and that means more to me than you or anyone else will ever be able to understand."

He wanted to forget the bath and just carry her to bed so that he could worship her the way she deserved. Forcing back that carnal urge, he couldn't believe the amount of love he felt or how hard his heart was beating. Bella reached over to turn the water off and stood to take off her shirt. He reached up, rubbing his hand over her scarred back, and let out a shaking breath in relief at the fact that there were no fresh wounds from the night before. He'd seen her in a bathing suit so many times, she had even gotten to the point that she'd wear bikinis-which he was more than happy for, and it amazed him that he was able to see past them. It was almost like her inner beauty reflected outward.

"What are you doing?" she asked him with a sly smile.

"Being grateful that I got there before he had the chance to hurt you again...physically. I know I was too late on the mental part."

"Yeah but you saved me again, Superman. After yesterday, I think it's safe to put what Jess said past us. We've bled for each other and now it's done. Your mom is learning to accept us, Jess is still cooperating and letting me be around Trent, and Jacob is...out of my life. My future is looking up for the first time since I realized my parents didn't want me and I wanted to give up," she said this last part with a sad but hopeful smile.

"You're mine completely now. I know you struggled with men having control of you. I don't want control but I won't tell you I don't have the urge to be ridiculously protective. You have to tell me if I get too...possessive of you."

"I can honestly say that I never think you will be but I promise to speak up. I'm done staying quiet and not fighting back. Still, you and Trenton are what I've been living for since moving back here from school all those years ago. I'm yours completely, Edward."

**Three Months Later**

Giggling. A mixture of Bella's and Trenton's laughs were something Edward would have to figure out a way to nonchalantly record so people wouldn't think he was crazy. He'd never heard such an amazing sound. "Shh..." he heard Bella whisper and Trent laugh harder but it sounded muffled now. A smile broke across his face as he listened to them conspiring something. Rounding the corner in the new apartment he and Bella had just moved into and stepping into the kitchen, he saw them standing in front of the counter with strange expressions and puffed out cheeks.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked, trying to sound like he didn't know something was up.

Trent was the first to give a hint. He went to say something but whatever was in his mouth was obviously keeping him from doing so as he tried to move it and talk around it. Bella, fighting laughter, was trying to swallow whatever it was-he could see her throat working. He had to look back to Trent before his mind thought too much about that. "Trenton Anthony, where's the jar?" Edward asked with a smirk.

Bella looked to Trent, knowing they'd been caught and Edward saw that she was holding something behind her back. With one last, hard gulp, she breathed a sigh before biting her bottom lip and laughing again. Trenton finally managed to clear his own mouth because he looked back and forth between his father and Bella before pointing to his favorite girl. "It was Bella's idea!"

"Is that so?" Edward asked, stalking over to her and putting both of his hands behind her back to grab the offending object. With the jar wrapped in his hands, he lifted it up and over her to present them with the jar of peanut butter. Bella quit laughing and looked down at the floor as if waiting to get yelled at. He knew she was aware that she wasn't actually in trouble but she still seemed a little hesitant. He let her sweat it out before quickly leaning forward to kiss her forehead and then Trenton's before holding the peanut butter close to him and running out the kitchen. "The rest is mine!"

Delightful squeals and stomping feet followed him through the living room and back to the bedrooms. As they both tackled him to the bed, Bella kissed him while Trenton jumped on the mattress. The jar of peanut butter fell to the floor and was forgotten. He pulled them both into him and breathed deeply. "As much as I'm loving this moment, Trent, buddy, we gotta get you ready. Momma's on her way to get you."

"No..." he whined. "I stay here!"

Edward sighed, wishing his son could stay with him as well. Still, Jess had been very good about letting Edward see his son whenever it was convenient for everyone and he agreed to let her take Trent on one of his days because they were going to meet Mike's parents. "You get to go meet Mike's mommy and daddy. It will be fun." He hoped he sounded more convincing than he felt.

"But Mike no read the books right. You read books good."

Bella just drifted off the bed and into the next room, giving the two some privacy. Taking Trenton into his lap as he sat cross-legged on the bed. "Trent, look at me, buddy. I know this is hard to understand but there are some nights when I'm just not going to be able to be there to tuck you in. Mommy and Mike love you just as much as Bella and I do, though."

"I know," Trent huffed, being tired of hearing that.

"Do you remember what else we talked about? What I asked you yesterday?" He nodded, his eyes lighting up again. "Do you want to do it now before mommy gets here?"

Trent began to nod excitedly, pushing away from Edward to jump up and down on the bed again-as if his little body was too excited to contain itself. "Now! I do it now!"

"Okay...do you want to see it first?"

Trent's eyes widened as Edward brought the black box out of his jeans pockets and opened it. "Shiny!"

"Do you think she'll like it?"

Trent just shrugged. "She likes peanut butter but she like this, too."

Edward wished he could feel so nonchalant about the situation. There was still a chance Bella could say no. Getting serious again, he looked into his son's eyes, "Trent, are you sure you are okay with this?"

Trent nodded happily, playing with the box now. "I like Bella. She happy."

"She's very happy when you're here with us. How do you want to ask her?" Edward questioned with a playfully raised eyebrow. Trent shrugged again and hopped down off the bed. "Hey! Where are you going?"

Jumping up, he followed Trent as he padded his way back to the kitchen where Bella was just starting to cut up the vegetables she was planning to use in the soup for supper for her and Edward later. Before he could say anything, Trent tapped her on the back and waited patiently with the box behind his back. When she turned and looked down at the little boy, Trent looked at her with the most serious expression Edward had ever seen a three-year old give. "You happy and daddy happy," the toddler stated as he brought the box into view and held it out to her.

She gave a curious and slightly confused smile before taking it from him. "What's in here, buddy?" she asked, opening the box carefully.

The gasp she gave took Edward's own breath away. "Trent...Edward...I... What's happening right now?" she asked, turning to Edward in uncertain shock.

"You be daddy's wife," Trent shrugged, looking up at her and answering the question before Edward could.

Bella stood stock still for a moment and Edward was genuinely worried. "Bells?" he asked softly.

She blinked a few times and he saw tears cascade down her face. Stooping down to Trent's level, she kissed his little cheek and nodded as she looked up at Edward. "Yes. Absolutely, Trent. I love you guys..."

Trent hugged her back and then watched along with Edward as she grabbed the box back off the counter and slid the ring onto her finger. Stalking over to Edward, she wrapped her arms around him and said again, as if for confirmation, "I love you both."

Jess actually gave Bella a hug and told her congratulations when she came to pick up Trenton and the excited little boy announced the news. Edward had never seen Bella so...bright. She was no longer shying away from things. She looked healthier-mentally and physically. After a long goodbye to Trent, he closed the door softly behind them and turned to Bella. The place always felt so quiet when Trent wasn't there but Bella's beaming smile put his heart to rest this one time.

Scooping her up, he carried her to the bedroom and fell onto the bed as her legs were already wrapped around his waist and it seemed they weren't going anywhere. "Are you absolutely sure about this?" she asked slowly against his neck.

"Bella, I've never been more sure of anything in my life..."

"The divorce just went through and..."

"Do _you_ want to do this?" he asked pointedly.

"It's all I've ever wanted," she whispered against his lips. "I just don't want you to rush into something you aren't ready for."

"I'm ready," he replied enthusiastically, propping himself up on one hand and taking hers in the other. As he brought her hand to his mouth, he kissed the ring before placing a quick trail of kisses up her arm to her neck. "I want to give you the biggest wedding there ever was..."

He frowned when she wiggled out from beneath him and scooted to sit up against the headboard. "Edward, wait. I don't want something big and extravagant. I want...happy and small."

"A _happy _wedding?" Edward chuckled at her adjective of choice.

"I want you and Trenton...your family...and that's it. Maybe Angela...and Rosalie. That's it."

"Okay. Whatever you want."

"Why do you look so disappointed?"

He sighed, remembering how drawl his first wedding had been. "Bella, I don't want to start off our marriage the same way I started with Jess. Even then, I didn't really want it and I kind of blew it off. It was nothing special at all. We didn't even go away for a honeymoon-I don't think we even...consummated...anything until about three weeks later. Sorry..." he cringed, seeing her flinch at that.

"Well, why don't we meet in the middle? I get the small wedding with just a few friends and family but we'll do it at a church and have a proper reception. You get a honeymoon...anywhere you want to go."

"Anywhere?" he smirked, having the perfect place already in mind.

"Anywhere," Bella smiled sweetly before sliding down to lay beside him.

Against his lips again, she was more than a temptation and the things he wanted to do with her were making his groin tighten. "I want you on the beach. Underneath me."

"Which beach?"

"I don't care," he groaned as she rolled her hips into him. "Fuck, we can go to La Push for all I care."

"I've never been to the beach before. I don't want to be in front of people with my...marks...in a bathing suit..."

"First, I don't plan for you to be in a bathing suit. Second, if you aren't in a suit, do you really think I'd want you in front of anyone else? You are mine to enjoy and no one else's."

"So, we're just going to find a private beach somewhere?" she asked skeptically.

"I have the money. I've been working a lot of overtime-at least that wasn't always a lie when I told Jess I was at work. When we get back from our trip, I want to take Trent to Disneyland. He's old enough now that he'd enjoy it... This apartment is just temporary as well. I'll take care of everything..." he responded with conviction. She just gave him a smile and shook her head. "What?"

She glanced down where he was working the belt on her jeans. "It's a good thing you're not the one having to _take care_ of our birth control...we wouldn't want another shot gun wedding..."

"Why not?" Bella pregnant with his child would be... He shook his head. There weren't words.

"Edward..." she said with warning. "I'm finally getting to be with you. I want to take a little while to just...get to..._be with you_. I'm not ready for that yet."

Knowing he had put it there, he felt bad for the sad look that was now on her face. "When do you want to get married?" he asked her softly, changing the subject and leaving her pants alone for the moment. She looked like she needed some time to get herself together.

"Next fall. On your birthday. It's a Saturday... I already looked into it while you were getting Trent ready to leave."

He smiled at that. "I'd love that. It'll be the best birthday ever."

"And," she added, "I'll go off my pills so that I'll be ready that night. Just give me until we're married. Let me enjoy our engagement without worrying about the baby dealing with my stress."

That's all it took. The idea of Bella being his wife, birthing his future child...or children, and just knowing that she was his made it impossible to control himself. It had been almost a decade since Bella stumbled into his life and he realized that until this point, there hadn't been one moment of complete peace. It amazed him how another human being could possibly be so vital to his life.

Things wouldn't be smooth sailing all the time. There would tears that they couldn't fight and there would always be people, especially those that knew of their past, that would have problems understanding their relationship. All that mattered, though, was that Bella knew who he was and knew he wouldn't let harm come to her again. For the first time in a decade, he was exactly where he needed...and wanted to be.

**Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this little three-shot that almost wasn't! If you want to check out another contest piece, check out Let's Roll, which is now also on my page. Thank you for the reviews and thank you for inspiring me to continue this on with two extra parts than I was planning. Darkest Valley is probably going to be wrapping up soon and I'm read to release my new story, Our Place Upon the Ashes. I hope to release that sometime soon. I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter, though. Leave me some love, Letzy xx**

**You can also follow me on twitter: Letzigprincess (remove space)**


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